


The Black Rune

by Chanlyeya



Series: Wyrd [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Consent Issues, Denial, Exploration of MTs, F/M, For Want of a Nail, Friends to Lovers, Fugitive!Prompto, Gen, Harm to Children, Human Experimentation, M/M, MT!Prompto, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Mengele-esque Experiments, Minor Characters Made Major, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Use of Cicatrization, headcanon heavy, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:27:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9315458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chanlyeya/pseuds/Chanlyeya
Summary: It was supposed to be simple. Drive to Altissia, watch his friend get married, drive back. Prompto should've known better—nothing in his life was ever simple.An AU in which Prompto doesn't escape Niflheim until he was 10 and it's implications.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> I normally don't do Fan works, but FFXV made me want to so badly. (So many wasted plot lines!!!)
> 
> Anyways, this idea started bouncing around my head the moment I reached chapter 13 and all the dormitories made me think about how the kids must've lived as they were being turned into MTs. And what better way to do that than make my favourite character's life that much worse!
> 
> This is going to be a looooong one, and darker than the actual game, if you haven't guessed based on the tags.
> 
> Also, a few headcanons will be explained in the end notes.

There was a chill in the air this late at night, and Cor was internally grateful he had the foresight to take his jacket with him, even if it had made getting away from the rest of his squad more of a hassle. The Marshal had been keeping a close eye on him recently—he had been edgy all week—but Cor had a duty to his King before his commander, and his King wanted him here. He was to meet a Niflheim defector, he had been told, and it was his job to assess the validity of that claim before allowing them any closer to the Crownsguard. Why the Marshal hadn't included in the plan, Cor would never know, but it was not his place to question royalty. He just hoped the Marshal wouldn't take _him_ for a defector this close to the border.

The later it got, the more he worried the meet up would occur. Travelling at night was dangerous due to the daemons wondering about, and Cor figured it would be just his luck that he would've snuck all the way out here only for his contact to be killed before arriving. He was thinking about the defector’s chances of actually making it when, just out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement.

Turning his body towards it, he called forth his blade. He should be safe in the Haven, but one could never be too careful when dealing with daemons. He strained his eyes in that same direction, looking for whatever disturbance he caught when he saw it.

Moving with a complete lack of grace Cor berated himself for not seeing them sooner was a person, making their way through the rocky terrain to the Haven Cor found himself in. They wore dark grey garments that nearly blended in with the darkness, but their disjointed movements made it clear where their arms and legs were, even hidden under their billowing cloak. He watched as they approached, heard their laboured breathing, and offered a hand once they got close enough to pull them onto the Haven, which they accepted readily. As soon as they climbed up, they collapsed on the ground, drinking in large gulps of air.

“Thank you,” she said, for it was obviously a woman now that he could see her up close. “Just…let me catch my breath please.”

“As you wish,” he said.

“Oh don't even start,” she said. “I'm a researcher, not a soldier. This is the most running I've done in my life.”

“I did not mean any offence,” he said. “Though I believe one catches their breath quicker without speaking.”

She turned her head towards him, probably to send a glare, but her hood was still up and covered all but her nose and mouth, rendering it obsolete. He motioned her to pull it back, and she must've seen it somehow, as she did as he suggested and Cor was greeted with the most striking eyes he had ever seen. They were so striking in fact that it took him a moment before he registered what she showed him.

“You're a child!” He growled.

“I’m sixteen,” she shot back. “I stopped being a child three years ago.”

“Not in Lucis.”

“Well, good thing I'm not a Lucian.” She stood up and dusted herself off, before reaching into her cloak and pulling out a folder she sent his way. “ _That_ is the information I told you about.”

“The weapon you say will take down the Wall,” he said, turning the folder over without opening it. The front had a classified rune stamped on it, already unlocked, and a sixteen digit number following the letter X. He opened it, finding the first page showing a detailed picture of the MTs that helped take over Tenebrae. “We've fought these before; they're a pain, but no match for the Wall.”

“You fought early prototypes,” she said, unimpressed with his skepticism. “X5-9 is _nothing_ like them.”

“What?”

“X5-9,” she repeated, taking the folder back from his hands and flipping through its pages, before landing on the one she wanted. “It's what I like to call him. X-5428-yadda-yadda is too big a mouthful.”

She handed him back the folder, and suddenly Cor wasn't looking at a picture of a clockwork soldier, but rather a young blonde boy. He stood in the middle of a warehouse, shirtless, with more muscle definition than was proper for a prepubescent child. He held a gun loosely in each hand and stared directly into the camera, a question in his eyes, while the rest of him remained impassive.

“We have several of them,” she explained. “Series A through F, but he’s our only X-series, and he's head and shoulders above the others.” Cor was barely listening as he flipped through the folder, skimming over the charts and statistics listed. “He's just a child now, but leave him in the Empire’s hands, and you won't live long enough to regret your decision.”

Cor continued reading what he could. His accuracy, his accelerated healing, his conditioning, his _use of magic_ and the dread pooled in his gut. If they could create one how much more could they make?

“How do we stop it?” He asked. The folder was filled with photos of the MT; him fighting another MT, shooting a goblin, killing an imp, taking out a glammoth, all with the same impassive look on his face.

“What do you do with any weapon of mass destruction?” She took the dossier back and waited until he caught her eye. “You dismantle it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magic in this world wasn't exclusive to the Lucis Royal family, but to the four royal families of Lucis, Accordo, Tenebrae and Niflheim. However, only the Lucian royal family retains their crystal, so while every member of the Caelum line has access to magic, the other three are only strong enough in few individuals to be of any use. The magic they have if each different as well, Lucis having the Armiger/black magic, Tenebrae having healing/holy magic, Niflheim having buffing magic and Accordo with cursing magic. The Accordo royal line, however, has been wiped out, so there is no longer any cursing magic.
> 
> The Black Rune is what the Wyrd rune is often referred to, and the concept of Wyrd will be featured prominently. If you don't know what it is, it will be explained in story, but I recommend looking it up cause it's pretty cool!


	2. Skipping Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week before the roadtrip, Prompto becomes Crownsguard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, you guys are awesome! I was NOT expecting such a response. On a prologue. That didn't even introduce the main characters! I don't even know what to say, but, phew, I suddenly feel a lot of pressure...
> 
> Anyways, this actually took longer than I expected to get out because I couldn't decide who I wanted as a POV character. In the end, I decided on Noctis...after having written almost 4k words with Prompto as the narrator OTL
> 
> Just like the last chapter, some additional notes at the end.

_“What’s a chocobo?”_

_Indie looked down at the boy at her feet. His eyes were as dull as all the other MTs around but didn't have that pesky red shine the others had. He was Verstael’s favourite—the wonderboy they called him, proof that MTs could be more, but Indie just saw a husk where a child should have been._

_“X5-9,” Indie said. MTs, of course, didn't have names, but remembering a sixteen-digit serial number for every child on the base was not exactly easy, so she had made it a habit of just using the first and last digit. Not that she let Vestrael know—he would see it too much like a nickname, and a nickname was even more humanizing than a name. “It's past midnight; you're supposed to be abed.”_

_X5-9 just blinked, before nodding, not even looking the slightest bit disappointed that she hadn't answered his question. Idly, Indie wondered if he could be disappointed. One had to have hopes for them to fall flat. Once X5-9 had returned to his quarters, Indie returned to her task at hand. She had to finish documenting the success rate—or lack thereof—of the most recent experiment. Vestrael wanted to work on X5-9 again, but he would only use what had been proven to work, so the quicker she could get these results into him, the sooner they’ll stop needlessly killing more kids with the injections._

_It was around three when she decided it was time to retire. She had gotten maybe halfway through, and as much as she would like just to keep going, she needed to present tomorrow and couldn't afford to pull another all-nighter._

_Filing everything away, Indie shut off the lights one by one as she made her way to the dormitories. The labs were eerily quiet at night, considering how loud they were during the day, and Indie was already looking forward to sinking into her mattress, even as crappy as it was. She had just about made it when she noticed one last light still flickering, coming from X5-9’s quarters._

_Indie sighed and thought about pretending she didn't see, before finally giving into her duty and making her way over. By the time she arrived at the doorway, X5-9 was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a picture book of all things in his lap as he watched her. Indie had no idea where he got the book from; Vestrael had made sure to burn them all. It was a worn copy of The Little Chocobo from what she could see, and he watched her with a question in his eyes._

_“What’s a chocobo?” he asked again, and this time, Indie answered._

* * *

The palace halls were heavy with their silence as every noble in the city watched the inauguration of the Crownsguard’s newest recruits. From his seat beneath his father’s throne, Noctis watched as Prompto did his damnest not to fidget as Cor forswore the man before him. He refused to meet his eye, though Noctis knew he felt his gaze, as he must have felt _everyone’s_ gaze in the room.

After today’s ceremony, the Crownsguard will have gained seven new members, but no one drew the public’s attention as readily as the sole civilian amongst their ranks. The nobles were behaving themselves today, but Noctis remembers their protests, not days before. They had voiced many complaints and whispered them once he started ignoring them, trying to convince the prince how it was in everyone’s best interest that he reconsider his nomination for Crownsguard. Noctis did not even bother responding to most of them, having already hashed them out with Cor.

Just over half a year ago, when Noctis had first made his nominee public, Cor had been his fiercest opposer. Cor had sat him down once the nominations had been made, and the other members of the council had dispersed. He stared him in the eye and combed through every possible downside to allowing Prompto to join the ranks.

“He's untrained,” he said first, as though Noctis didn't already know that. “Crownsguards are expected to have had over a decade of training by now.”

“Prompto catches on quickly,” Noctis said. “And he’s always enjoyed fiddling with tech of any sort—he could probably figure out how to use those Nif gadgets if he wanted to.”

“He's a coward,” Cor continued. “He hides from any confrontation.”

“He dislikes confrontations, true, but he's hardly a coward. He's always there should I ever need him.”

“His loyalty is questionable. He is not foresworn to you, or Insomnia.”

“And yet he stays. I say that proves his loyalty rather than debunk it.”

“He isn't well off. He would not be able to provide for the citizens should an invasion occur.”

 _That_ one had been a good point; one that Noctis couldn't refute, and one that had made him think it over. As Crownsguard, members were expected to look after the civilians should the worst come to pass—and that meant providing food and shelter for any who required it. Prompto was already penny-pinching just for his uniforms; there was no way he would be able to provide for his family let alone others after an invasion.

“I’ll figure something out,” he said.

“Then do so,” Cor replied. “Until then, my answer is no.”

They had arrived at an impasse; Noctis refused to take back the nomination, but it could not go through without the Marshal’s approval, and Cor just as stubbornly refused to give it until that issue was resolved. It had lasted a month, one in which Noctis had done more paperwork than in his four years of high school, having dragged Ignis in to help him find a solution, but in the end, it was pointless. Cor had come back after his one day off, carrying a manila folder which he handed Noctis after dragging him into his office.

“I spoke to the Lorum family,” he said. “They’ve agreed to look after any civilians that would be placed under Crownsguard Argentum’s protection in exchange for half his stipend and the right to let Cassius be heir.”

“The man is paralyzed, there's no way he could make Crownsguard.”

“That's the point. They want Argentum to be put forward as his proxy. Argentum will do the heavy lifting, while they get the benefits.”

“Well, that hardly seems fair.”

“It's not,” Cor agreed. “But it's the only option we’ve got unless you figured something out.”

He hadn't, and Cor knew it too.

Noctis frowned. The right thing to do would be to decline—once Cassius becomes heir without the mandatory Crownsguard service, other families will demand the same opportunity. The Crownsguard, despite its name, was mainly for the people, with only a handful of them dedicated towards the crown and its heirs. If an heir could be chosen without committing their lives to the people, Noctis feared what might happen.

“Fine,” he said. “But let them know that it's on the condition that they are more involved in providing for their people and that half the money they receive must be spent on the community.”

Cor nodded. “Then there’s only one last thing,” he said. “Argentum will not get the training necessary with his instructors dividing their attention among all potential recruits.”

Noctis rolled his eyes. “Then give him extra classes!”

“Rather than that, I would like to request a leave of absence for the next six months,” he said. “I've spoken to Monica, she will be acting Marshal until I return—with your father’s blessing of course—and I will meanwhile personally train your friend. I imagine you have every intention of making him a member of your future Kingsglaive. He cannot afford to perform subpar in such a case.”

It had been too good an offer for Noctis to refuse. With his father’s blessing, which he acquired in exchange for a more active participation in the country’s affairs, Cor had done just that. For the entirety of the six months, Noctis had seen neither hide nor hair of his friend as Cor had whisked him away the Six know where. They had kept in contact through sporadic texts, but this ceremony was the first time Noctis was seeing him in person since then.

Once Cor had finished swearing in the most recent recruit, he turned his attention to Prompto and called him forward.

“Prompto Argentum,” he said, and Noctis couldn't help but smile as he watched his friend ring his hands now that it was his turn. “Do you swear by the Six to forever be faithful to your prince, never cause him harm and observe homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit?”

Having been chosen as one of Noctis’ protectorates, Cor skipped the Vow of Service and went directly to the Vow of Fealty. For a moment, murmurs broke the silence as everyone voiced their displeasure. Normally, the Vow of Fealty occurred a few years after their Vow of Service. Even Gladio, who had been guaranteed to take the Vow of Fealty as the future king’s Shield hadn't skipped the Vow of Service, but that was mostly because Noctis had not yet been old enough to accept someone's fealty.

“I do,” Prompto said once Cor had silenced the room again with a pointed look he somehow managed to convey to the entire room. “I mean, uh, I swear!”

Cor nodded, before, to everyone's surprise, conjuring kikuichimonji and placing it in Prompto’s hands rather than hand him his own weapon. He stepped forward and whispered something in his ear as he passed it, and Prompto’s entire body seemed to flush before hugging the katana to his chest and bowing once more. Cor ignored him as he once again made his way centre stage to bring the ceremony to a close, but no one paid him any mind as everyone’s attention was palpably on Prompto, and Noctis wondered how he was feeling now that Cor had guaranteed he would be the talk of the town. It was one thing if the prince showed his friend impartial treatment, it was an entirely different thing if the Marshal did the same. Cor was just bringing his speech to a close when Prompto finally looked up from the ground and caught Noctis’ eye—and while his grip on kikuichimonji hadn’t loosened and his skin remained flushed, Prompto sent him the biggest grin he could, until it nearly split his face in half.

* * *

The minute it was considered polite for Noctis to leave after congratulating the recruits, Noctis set off in search of his friend, who seemed to have disappeared the moment he took his eye off him. Noctis weaved through the crowd, making sure not to accidentally bump into another to give them a reason to start a conversation. He eventually found him outside on the patio, hiding from the rain and wandering eyes between the pillars, kikuichimonji still practically hugged to his chest, and a stuffed chocobo under his arm.

“Congrats,” he said. “You're finally Crownsguard.”

“Yeah,” Prompto said, “and yet I feel more out of place than ever. I can't _breathe_ without everyone judging me!”

Noctis hit him lightly, but not expecting it, Prompto had to reaffirm his balance. “Come on; the Immortal named you his protégé; you deserve to be here just as much as anyone else,” he said. “Speaking of which, did you _know_ he was going to do that?”

“What, give me his stupid sword, so everyone and their grandmas resent me more than they already did? No. I wouldn't have shown up if I did. I thought I was going to have a heart attack the minute he brought that out. I think I may have been more partial to him stabbing me with it. At least that way, people won't be blaming nepotism for my success.”

Noctis laughed. “I wasn't aware you knew such big words.” He avoided the elbow Prompto sent his way. “So…katana, eh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised seeing as how Cor took you under his wing.”

“Wait, what? No! I can't wield this for shite.” As though to demonstrate his point, Prompto loosened his grip on kikuichimonji only to drop it. “It drove Cor _nuts_ , I actually kinda suck with conventional weapons. This is just a formality—a _stupid_ formality that Cor should be fired over—but I'm sure he's expecting it back at the end of the night, and even if he isn't, he's damn well going to take it. No, the only things I'm leaving this place with are the threads and this little guy.”

“About that.” Noctis sent the stuffed toy a pointed look. “What's with that?”

Prompto laughed. “It's a graduation gift from mumsies,” he said. “I made her promise me to buy me a chocobo if I managed to pass without any complications, so Cor handed this to me on her behalf. She can be soooo stingy sometimes…”

“Well, you _did_ technically get what you asked for. Maybe be more specific next time?”

Prompto scoffed, and the two fell into a companionable silence. The party could still be heard, and Noctis tried to imagine just how many of those hushed conversations were about Prompto. Judging by how much his friend was fidgeting, Prompto was thinking the same thing. “Hey,” he said. “What do you say we get out of here?”

“Hell yeah! But wait, don't you kinda need to be here, being, y’know, a _prince_ and all that?”

“My being here is just a formality,” he said. “A stupid formality that someone should be fired over. Come on; it's been months since I've beaten you in King’s Knight, I need to make sure you still know your place.”

“You're on! Let me just find Cor so I can give him his sword back!”

Noctis laughed as Prompto tripped over his own feet in his haste to re-enter the palace and find the Marshal, though to be fair, he was probably just as excited to spend the night with his friend. Six months was a long time to go without seeing each other, but if it meant Prompto would be guaranteed a spot in his Kingsglaive and, as such, at his side, he figured the wait was worth it.

Didn't mean he was going to go easy on him in King’s Knight. He didn't miss Prompto that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely headcanon that Prompto was a recent addition to the Crownsguard, considering how stocked he is about his threads at the beginning of the game.
> 
> Crownsguard I also basically equated to knighthood which is why I figure only nobles (and Prompto) are members. And while I believe Prompto does deserve to be there, nepotism was almost certainly involved.
> 
> On another completely unrelated note, as of now this is all un-beta'ed, so I may be checking back a few times and changing some things. If you know anyone who might be interested in beta'ing, I would be forever grateful for someone to look it over :P


	3. Pleasant Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis had the whole day planned out. Unfortunately, no one seemed to have gotten the memo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yippee! Chapter 2!
> 
> Once again, thank you everyone for showing an interest in this. It still blows my mind whenever I come back to it and see all the hits and kudos and comments. It gets me grinning for the entire day.
> 
> This chapter was more light hearted, and dialogue-heavy, than intended, and Cor just did whatever he pleased, but it's done! Next chapter, the plot finally starts rolling. Still at a very slight incline, true, but they'll finally leave Insomnia for Altissia.
> 
> Also, I want to thank the lovely Bibliobasilisk for beta'ing, and just in general being there for me to squee at. Sometimes, I just really need to squee >.<
> 
> As per usual, additional headcannons at the end.

Noctis awoke feeling more refreshed than he had in months, despite having gone to bed much later than usual. Currently he was cocooned in blankets, having gotten cold during the night, and Noctis wouldn't mind if he spent the rest of his day here. Prompto, on the other hand, was sprawled on the floor practically inside his closet, as he was wont to do whenever Noctis stayed the night. Apparently, being as sensitive to light changes as he was, it was the only way he could sleep through the ass crack of dawn if he wasn't allowed the bed.

(Having been weirded out the first time, Noctis pointed out that he _was_ allowed the bed, and that if he _really_ wanted Noctis to have it they could share, but Prompto was adamant that his single bed was no good for the both of them. Why he did the exact same thing whenever he stayed over at Noctis’ place, he still didn't know.)

Not wanting to leave the comforts of the bed, but with nothing better to do, Noctis rolled over and watched Prompto sleep. It wasn't that interesting, but his phone was in the other room, and Noctis had no intention of getting up to retrieve it. He slept without a blanket, and for not the first time, Noctis begrudged his uncanny ability to regulate his body temperature no matter the conditions. Noctis had once taken him polar dipping on a dare, and while Noctis’ teeth were clattering the entire time, Prompto was fine within a minute.

Watching someone sleep, especially someone as motionless as Prompto, turned out to be as interesting as paint drying or grass growing. Noctis could only handle so much boredom before it killed him. Kicking off most of the blankets, Noctis wrapped the remainder around him like a robe as he made his way to the living room. Finding his phone where he left it, Noctis was just about to open up King’s Knight, when someone knocked on the door. A sudden _crash_ from Prompto’s room was all the warning he got before Prompto suddenly barrelled down the hall, bedhead and all. Barely stopping to balance himself, he swung the door open, and immediately his shoulders sagged.

“Oh c’mon!”

Noctis strained himself to look over Prompto’s shoulder to see who it was, but found he didn't need to, as Cor pushed past Prompto, and invited himself in.

“Good, you're dressed,” he said once he caught Noctis’ eye, pointedly not mentioning it was in last night’s clothes. “Get your things, we need to talk.”

“Hello to you too,” Prompto muttered, but Cor kept his gaze centred on Noctis.

“People who drop kikuichimonji don't deserve my attention.”

“How do you even know about that?”

“You just told me.”

Prompto groaned. Maybe if Noctis had been more awake, he would have laughed. Prior to their little training session, the two never interacted, and Cor made a point of never addressing him, but it seemed Prompto grew on him. “Like fungus,” Ignis had once said.

“Hurry it up Noct!”

“Coming!”

Since they hadn't meant to have an impromptu sleep-over at Prompto’s, Noctis didn't have anything more than the clothes on his back. Putting on his boots, he handed Prompto his blanket with a quick apology and left.

Cor had parked his car further than Noctis deemed necessary, and upon arriving, he slouched into the backseat. Cor had stayed behind to talk to Prompto—to berate him for _actually_ dropping kikuichimonji no doubt—but soon enough, he slid into the driver’s seat, and they drove off.

“What does dad want?” He asked. “He agreed to let me have today to myself.”

“I'm not taking you to your father’s,” he said, catching Noctis’ eye through the rearview mirror. “I said _we_ need to talk.”

“And this couldn't wait until tomorrow?”

Cor ignored him. “Why didn't you tell Prompto you were leaving for Altissia?”

“Wait, you told him?”

“Of course, I was expecting you to have informed him last night. Which brings me back to my question, why didn't you? Did you decide against taking him with you?”

“Of course not! You stole him away for six months, do you think I'm going to leave him behind for who knows how long? I was planning on telling him today since we were hanging out—that is, until _someone_ dragged me away.”

“Good, because we need to talk.”

“You're not even listening to me.”

“Specifically about Crownsguard Argentum.”

Noctis’ first thought was _stop calling him that_ , followed immediately by: “Wait, what?”

“You still fish, right?”

“What about Prompto?”

“We haven't fished together in a while. Maybe we could head to the lake for our chat?”

“Cor!”

“It’ll be nice to fish together, one last time before you leave.”

“You can be such an ass,” Noctis said, giving up on getting any info out of him. Cor could be obstinate at times, and apparently, now was one of them. It was such a shame. He had the perfect day planned out to catch up with Prompto after a long absence, but now Cor ruined it. At the very least, he would get some fishing out of it. Cor wasn't lying either; it _would_ be nice to fish together, if only to show how he's improved.

Once they reached the lake, Noctis waited as Cor grabbed his things before heading out. They went further out than usual, until it was just the two of them. Summoning his own rod, Noctis waited for Cor to cast a line before doing the same, but he never did.

“You know, if you dragged me out all the way here, we better actually get to fish,” he said. Cor rolled his eyes (dare he say affectionately?), before finally baiting his line and casting it. Noctis wasted no time in following suit. “Before we start this conversation you wanted, know that if you're going to try and convince me to leave Prompto behind, I'm not listening.”

Cor laughed. “I wasn't going to waste my breath on that. Now that he's officially sworn to you, I can't actually do anything to stop you,” he said. “Besides, he might come in handy.”

“He's grown on you,” Noctis accused.

“It surprises me too, especially considering I thought I may have to kill him at first,” Cor admitted.

“C’mon, I know he can get annoying, but he's not _that_ bad.”

“Evidently, considering I spent six months and I haven't killed him yet.”

“Alright, I’ll bite.” _Since_ _the_ _fish_ _aren't_ , Noctis thought sardonically. “What about?”

“Although me handing him kikuichimonji was mostly a formality—”

“A stupid one that should get you fired…” Noctis mumbled.

“What?”

“Never mind.”

Though the look Cor gave him told him that he had indeed heard, he ignored the comment.

“Although it was mostly a formality,” he repeated, “I did have a reason for doing it, and despite what Prompto may have told you, it was not as a means to humble him.”

“In his defence, you _did_ make him the talk of the town despite the upcoming treaty with Niflheim. So what, was it your way of getting people—”

“Noct.”

Just the way Cor said his name had him standing at attention. “Despite my best efforts, Prompto is still below average in all bladed weapons; he just could never get the hang of them.”

“So that's why you gave him your sword?” Noctis asked. “To hide the fact that he doesn't have a chosen weapon?”

“No,” he denied. “Prompto does have a chosen weapon; he's the best I've seen with it. Prompto is…a crack shot. He wields guns like no one I've ever seen—and that includes all the Nifs I’ve fought.”

“But guns are—”

“Illegal in Insomnia, yes,” Cor finished. “And, in general, frowned upon in Lucis. It's up to you whether you allow him to use them or not, but I called you here to try and convince you to do so. You will find a very powerful ally in Prompto, should you permit him.”

There was too much thinking involved in this fishing trip for him to truly enjoy it, so he called off his rod and seated himself on the pier. If Prompto truly felt most comfortable with guns, then he was inclined to allow their use, but… Noctis was trying to endear him to the upper echelon, not alienate him further. He sighed. “The nobility are going to hate him…”

“More than they already do,” Cor agreed. “They've been trying to convince your father that he is a bad influence, and you should cease all contact with him.”

“Funny, you said the same thing when I first brought up being friends with him.”

Cor coughed. “He was an unknown variable then, Noct.”

“Maybe I should just force everyone to spend time with him,” he mused. “Maybe then they'll all grow attached to him as you did… but then if they _all_ took six months, who knows if I’ll ever see him again.”

Cor’s line was still cast, and Noctis watched as it bobbed, but Cor wasn't paying attention to it. Cor may have been the one that taught him how to fish, but he himself was no good at the sport. Noctis’ hand itched to take over.

“Is that the only reason you called me out here?” He asked distractedly, as his eye was still on the line that Cor seemed to have forgotten about. “Because if it is, I'd like to start actually making use of my rod. You somehow manage to suck the fun out of fishing.”

“I believe Your Highness is the only who seems to think there is fun to suck out,” Cor teased. Noctis aimed to give him a good shove for that comment, but Cor, the Ever-Wary, simply used his momentum against him, and he tumbled into the lake.

“I thought you wanted to fish, Noct, not go for a swim.”

“You just scared off all the fish!” He said once he resurfaced. “You know what?” He tried to hide his laugh, but a grin still snuck its way in. “Just take me home; you're more trouble than Prompto on his worst days.”

Cor laughed, and Noctis wondered if, just maybe, him and Prompto getting along may actually be a bad thing. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

* * *

Deciding not to let Cor ruin his _entire_ day, Noctis asked Ignis to go and pick up Prompto, as he got changed into some dry clothes. His adviser had raised an eyebrow at his drenched attire, but thankfully had not asked any questions. Once he settled himself in dry, non-formal attire, he reached for his phone and sent Gladio a quick message. If he couldn't follow his original plans of staying in and playing video games, he could at the very least do something productive, like introduce his personal guard to one another.

In truth, Noctis had intended to introduce the two of them long ago, but there had always been _something_ getting in the way. The most recent obstacle was Cor’s refusal to allow it. Gladio was a certified trainer, and Cor did not trust Noctis to refrain from starting Prompto’s training early. Noctis would have found it insulting—if he hadn't seriously considered the idea.

 _I’ll_ _be_ _right_ _over_ , was the immediate response. He wasn't surprised. While Prompto had been fine with putting off meeting his other friends, Gladio had been bugging him to do so since he found out about the other.

He wondered if he should send Prompto the same notification, but figured Ignis showing up at his door would be indication enough. Besides, that way Prompto wouldn't have time to come up with another excuse to further delay meeting his “noble” friends.

Gladio had not been exaggerating. Within a couple minutes, he was in the lobby, asking to come up. Too lazy to go and meet him, he gave the okay, and soon he was on his way. Ignis hadn't sent him anything, so Noctis could expect another half hour before they arrived. Good, he could give Gladio some pointers on how not to scare the crap out of Prompto.

“Hey,” Gladio said upon arrival. “Where's the blondie?”

“Not here yet,” Noctis said, and gestured for him to take a seat. “Ignis is picking him up though, so he'll be here soon.”

“Can’t believe I'm finally meeting the guy,” Gladio said. Judging by his bouncing leg, he wasn't kidding.

“You could've met him last night.”

“I wanted to, but I needed to get things ready for the trip. Speaking of which, are you ready?”

“Mostly.” Which was a lie, but he figured an irate Gladio would not do for a good first impression. Especially someone as jumpy as Prompto. “So, when you first see him, give him a bit of space. He freaks out if you get too close.”

“Huh. Iggy said the opposite.”

“Well, yeah, it's more that he doesn't know you that makes him freak out. He usually gets over it quickly, but give him the time to do so. And don't be upset if it takes a little while, it took even me a couple of days for him to get used to.”

“Ooookay. Anything else I should know?”

“He rambles when he's nervous, so expect him to do a lot of talking.”

“Alright.” Gladio tried to relax, but his finger kept tapping away against the armrest. Noctis tried not to smile at just how excited he was to meet Prompto, but he probably felt a bit left out, being the only one who hadn't met him.

They sat in silence for a good minute or two when Noctis’ phone rang with a notification from Ignis, letting him know they arrived.

“I'll get them,” Gladio offered, having left his seat the minute the phone rang. “You just sit there looking pretty, as you did for me.”

“Don't scare him too much,” Noctis yelled after him. “I wanna still be friends with him when you get up here!”

Gladio sent him a one-fingered salute on his way out the door. He thought about staying, but decided against it and chased after Gladio. He managed to catch him at the elevator, and together they rode it down.

“So I'm not worth escorting, but he is?” Gladio joked.

“I just don't wanna miss his face when he sees you,” Noctis replied. “He makes the most hilarious face when he’s scared.”

“I'll let him know you enjoy his suffering.”

“Pfft, he already knows.”

The ride was short, thankfully, and when the doors finally opened, Ignis and Prompto were already on the other side. Ignis gave a quick nod, and entered, but Prompto took a moment to simply stare at Gladio.

“You're big,” was all he said after a good few moments of silence. Ignis had been forced to keep the doors open, since Prompto refused to move until he got that off his chest. “Like, really big. I don't mean fat! Just…really tall, and broad, and muscle-y. Like, really muscle-y.”

“Don't worry, kid,” Gladio said, laughing, stepping aside to give him space like Noctis suggested. “I know. The name’s Gladio, and you must be Prompto. I saw the video you sent Ignis.”

“Wait, what?” Noctis asked. He had not been aware Ignis had even received anything from Prompto. Ignis refused to meet his eye as he adjusted his glasses. “What video?”

“You mean the New Year's Eve one? Ah, man, I had to delete that,” Prompto said. “Biggest regret of my life. I was devastated when Ignis said he did the same. You wouldn't happen to have it still, would you?”

“You bet I do.” Gladio grinned as he pulled out his phone. “I make sure to watch it whenever babysitting the prince gets to be too much. Want me to send it to you?”

“Oh man! Big guy, if you send that to me, you'll be my new best friend for life!”

“Hey!”

“Sorry Noct, them’s the breaks,” Prompto said, and immediately closed the distance between him and Gladio, destroying any semblance of personal space to punch in his number in the other’s contacts.

“Sorry I wasn't at the ceremony last night. Had to get ready for the trip, since Noctis hasn't heard of giving people a head’s up.”

“You're telling me, I only found out this morning. Second hand!”

“To be fair,” Noctis interjected. “You were missing for six months.”

“I heard you run,” Gladio said, completely ignoring him. “We could go for runs in the morning on our way to Altissia, if you're up for it.”

“Did you just become my running buddie? Oh. Em. Gee. You are _definitely_ my new favourite person!”

The ride up was much longer than the ride down. Gladio and Prompto both paid him no mind, too busy bonding over their mutual hatred for running, and their continued practice of it. Honestly, Noctis was amazed at just how quickly Prompto warmed up to Gladio. He hadn't been kidding when he said when he said it took Prompto a few days to arrive to the same level of comfort Gladio achieved in a couple of minutes.

For some reason, it made him uncomfortable. Like something was stuck in the back of his throat. He tried his best to hide his scowl, but Ignis must've caught it.

“Don't worry, Noct,” he said as they followed after the other two. “I'm sure Prompto still considers you his favourite person. For now.”

“I wasn't worried about that.”

“If you say so,” Ignis said. “Now, seeing as how when I left this morning you had not yet started packing, I believe we have some work to do. Come along now, I'm sure Gladio and Prompto can take care of themselves.”

Noctis looked back at the two who made themselves comfortable on his couch, as Ignis ushered him into his room. He sighed; it seemed today was just bound to be a bad one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "A true Lucian can wield any blade" is a motto of the hierarchy in Lucis. Swords and javelins and maces and all that take skill, while anyone can fire a gun. Guns are also originally of Nif-make, so guns have come to be frowned upon. It is illegal in Insomnia, but the rest of Lucis is a different story, as the rest of Lucis doesn't have the Wall to protect them from Daemons. Still frowned upon though, as it's seen as taking the easy way out.
> 
> On Cor and fishing; Cor only gets one full day off a month, in which he is under no circumstances to be called upon unless there is a full blown emergency. One such day, Noctis, being a child and ever curious, decided to follow him and see where he went, and Cor, being, while, Cor, caught him and decided that he'll just bore the prince to death and pretend to fish, because fishing is dreadfully boring, right? Things didn't go as planned, and it has come to be one his greatest regrets.
> 
> Finally, take it from a competitive runner—no one likes running. We don't know why we continue to do it, but everyone and their mothers HATE running.


	4. Talks Under the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and Prompto spend a quiet night under the stars, talking...and doing laundry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *crawls out of my grave* I'm AAAAAAAALIVE!
> 
> Sorry this took wayyyyy longer than planned; real life kinda caught up. Nothing bad! Just, learning new responsibilities at work—and learning them in another city because boss said so—and car shopping left me with little time to myself. On the bright side, I get my new car on Monday! I don't know if I'm more excited about getting the darned thing or just not running around all over the place...
> 
> Also, I gained a new roommate in the form of a bat in my basement! Had no idea what to do for awhile—the poor thing most likely couldn't sustain itself here, and it was cold enough to kill it outside T^T Yay for Canadian winters! Freezing even without the usual presence of snow. Thankfully, we caught it, and were able to bring it to the wildlife haven nearby.
> 
> Anyways, thank you guys so much for your patience and comments and general awesomeness. This chapter was a (insert mean word here). I think I ended up restarting it like 7 times. I went from sunsick Prompto pushing the Regalia, to starting in Insomnia and leaving, to arriving at Hammerhead. I just couldn't settle on something I actually liked. Silver lining—even though I scrapped a whole bunch of stuff in these last few weeks, I was also building up the lore to Black Rune, so it wasn't a complete waste of time :D
> 
> Thank you guys for your patience (this needs to be reiterated) and enjoy the chapter! Headcannons, end notes, but you know the drill.
> 
> Once again, thanks to Bibliobasilisk for beta'ing :)

Camping sucked, Noctis decided relatively early into the night. While initially he had been excited to try it—he hadn’t had the pleasure of camping before—the novelty wore out quickly enough when the four of them tried to squeeze into one tent. Gladio, who had been the quickest to fall asleep, was snoring up a thunderstorm with each intake of breath, and Noctis was having a hard time sleeping through it. He had no idea how Ignis could sleep so soundly next to that man. He was just glad to have two bodies in between him and the snoring beast.

Or, he _would_ have two bodies, if Prompto was actually in the tent. Noctis realized he must’ve fallen asleep at some point since he didn’t notice his bed mate’s departure. Knowing he suffered from DSPD, Noctis wasn’t surprised to learn he was _still_ awake, and, figuring he wasn’t going to get back to sleep with the noise, he decided to pester his friend in the meantime.

Leaving the tent, it didn’t take long to find Prompto. Sitting next to the embers of what was once their fire, Noctis was surprised to see him with a basin and washboard, rather than on his phone.

“Isn’t a bit late for laundry?” Noctis asked.

Prompto jerked, dropping his shirt in the basin and falling flat on his ass. He sent Noctis a glare, and with the light of the haven reflecting against his glasses _just so,_ it was almost effective. Fortunately, he knew Prompto enough to not find even glowing eyes creepy; the guy wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Or so he had originally believed. Watching Prompto take out reapertails and sabertusks without the slightest hesitation, and having _seen_ his accuracy, Noctis wouldn’t be surprised if he _shot_ the damn fly out of the sky. Cor had said he was a crackshot, but this was just ridiculous.

“I’m pretty sure it’s one-ish,” Prompto said, grabbing his shirt and returning to the task at hand. He was wearing his sweatpants, but not much else. Both his feet and shoulders were bare, but he kept his signature bracelets and bandana. Behind him, yesterday’s pants and vest hung from a rack. “So, technically it’s _early_. Speaking of which; what are you doing up?”

“Gladio’s trying to wake the dead,” he said, tapping the rack with his foot before letting himself fall into the chair nearest Prompto. “Where did you even get all this?” 

“Armiger,” Prompto said. “Ignis told me he placed some cleaning stuff in it, alongside all the other paraphernalia.”

“Ooooh, big word.”

Prompto flicked his wet hands at him. “Just quoting ‘Specs.” 

“That explains things.”

Prompto shrugged, but didn’t bother continuing the conversation. He was paying an inordinate amount of attention to his shirt, as though he feared it may get up and run should he take his eyes off of it. Noctis leaned forward in the chair and watched his friend; there was a tension not usually present in the set of his shoulders. It had been since they set up camp.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Hmm?” Prompto turned and caught his eye for a split second, before returning his attention to other things. He sighed. “Yeah, just, not used to sleeping on the ground.”

“You sleep in your closet.”

“Yeah; which is in my room—in my house! Aaaaaand, there’s carpet! There’s nothing like that here; just, rock and glowing runes that make my skin itch. How do we even know the Havens are safe?”

“That itch you’re feeling is what’s keeping the daemons at bay,” Noctis explained. “The Nox Fleuret family filled the Havens with Holy runes back when they still had their Crystal. They are perfectly safe.”

“Still makes me itchy,” Prompto complained. “It feels like there’s bugs crawling all over my skin. I just can’t sleep with what feels like bed bugs.”

“So, you decided to do laundry?”

Prompto shrugged. “Beats staring at a dead phone screen. Forgot to charge my phone before we left; I can’t even turn the damn thing on now. Mumsies’ gonna flip; I promised to call her the first night. She was against my leaving the Wall, says it’s a “stupid, unnecessary risk”. She gave me like ten conditions before allowing me to go—preeeeetty sure I’ve broken, like, seven of them by now.”

“Overprotective much?” 

“She’s a mom,” he said, as though that was explanation enough. Noctis didn’t have many memories of his mom; just a vague recollection of black hair and the scent of sylleblossoms, but he had Ignis, so he conceded to his point. Noctis was just about to say as much, but was cut off by a yawn. “You should really get some sleep Noct. It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, because there was no denying that it had been a long day, and Noctis was exhausted. Providing magic for four people for nearly twelve hours did that to a person.

Today—yesterday—was supposed to be a simple one. Leave Insomnia, drive to Galdin, catch a boat, and the day is done. Unfortunately, it had been anything but that. Noctis hadn’t known what he was expecting when he stood before his father prior to his departure, but it was definitely more than the standard blessing he received. _Set forth, with my blessing,_ he had said, as though speaking to any ordinary citizen doing Lucis’ bidding rather than his own son. He had even referred to him as “prince Noctis”, and, while Noctis was aware he was simply following protocol, he had been hoping for a more personal farewell, seeing as it would be the last time they saw each other until Noctis returned from his wedding.

Noctis loved his father. He was a great man, and a better king, but Noctis could clearly remember wishing that his father took his duties less seriously for once. That had been par for course for the most part, with his three cohorts snarking about his royal upbringing to complete the picture, but his father had followed him out the Citadel and had just been... _weird_. Not wanting to leave too much unsaid, apparently, his father proceeded to lecture him on involving his friends, his behavior in front of Luna, and that he should, under no circumstances, ditch the wedding to return home. Noctis almost wanted his impersonal blessing back, when his father placed his hand on his shoulder and told him with finality to “walk tall.”

“Walking tall” was easier said than done, however, when one had to push a car—whether it was a _custom classic_ or not—several miles. In the desert. At high noon. Needless to say, by the time they had reached Hammerhead, a whole three and a half hours later than planned, Noctis wasn’t in the best of moods. All he really wanted to do was nap, but Cid, being the stingy old man that he is, left them with no money to allow it and sent them on _pest control_ . And _that_ had required them to run through the desert once more chasing down reapertails before being sent on a manhunt looking for _Dave_ , who _then_ asked them to take out some dualhorn. Ignis, of course, jumped on it, as it was his “princely duty” to protect the people. The only reason they hadn’t gone after the dualhorn immediately was the setting sun and the ever present threat of daemons requiring them to camp.

So, yes, it had been a long day, and Noctis wanted nothing more than to sleep it off, but as exhausted as he was, he didn’t think he could with Gladio sounding like an old diesel engine in the small confines of the tent. Besides, he could say the same thing to Prompto. No matter how far off his Circadian rhythm may be, he must be feeling it after almost twenty-four hours of non-stop physical activity. 

“How about this,” Prompto said, and Noctis just realized he said that aloud. “I’ll hang this up, and then we can both go to sleep. That way, Iggy won’t be forced to wake us up in the morning.”

“We can try, but I don’t think I’m likely to get any sleep in there,” Noctis said.

Prompto stood, and sent him a smile. “We’ll see,” was all he said, but there was a twinkle in his eye that told him a different story. Prompto wrung out his shirt and hung it next to the rest of his Crownsguard uniform. Summoning his tank top, he slipped it on, and Noctis wondered if that was more to do with Prompto wanting to further drain his already low energy levels than actually feeling the need to sleep with a shirt on.

Judging by the sudden increase in the weight of his eyelids, Noctis figured he wasn’t that far off.

“If you fall asleep first,” Noctis said, following Prompto as he emptied the basin over the edge of the Haven before returning it to the Armiger, “you’re eating all my vegetables for the next week.”

Prompto laughed. “As His Highness commands,” he said, slapping Noctis’ backside as he made way to the tent. “If _I_ win, you have to stop whenever I want to take a picture.”

“You’re on,” he said, following him in. “Just be aware you’re making me want to stay awake now.”

Unfortunately, whether it was just the day’s events finally catching up to him, or the extra body drowning out the sound of Gladio’s snores, Prompto somehow managed to win that bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompto can not shoot a fly out of the sky, nor would he want to—waste of a bullet—he's good, but not that good Noct.
> 
> The boys have a very specific sleeping arrangement. Gladio, who snores as though he swallowed a frog, sleeps on the far side in between Ignis and the tent. Other than his snoring, he's a fine bedmate. Ignis is the perfect bedmate—never steals the covers, stays on his side of the bed, is a heavy sleeper, doesn't snore or kick or cuddle-strangle someone in their sleep—with one issue; wake him up prior to his biological clock's set time, and he'll be pissy for a week. And since he's the one making the food, no one wants that. Which is why they've placed him between Gladio and Prompto. Prompto generally has a hard time sleeping at night, but he doesn't toss and turn and is generally pretty still at night, and he has been given the unofficial job of shielding Ignis from Noctis.
> 
> Noctis is the WORST sleeper of the bunch, and you can never know what you're getting from him. Some nights, if he pushed himself to utter exhaustion, he's still as a rock. Sometimes, he's a cuddlebug, and will wrap himself around the nearest thing with a near death grip. Most times however, he kicks and flails as though he were fighting something in his sleep. It makes sleeping next to him a nightmare, but the boy is completely oblivious to his horrific sleeping habits.
> 
> DSPD—or, delayed sleep phase disorder—is an actual thing where one's biological clock basically works outside the societal norm. These people are often referred to as "night owls", and it affects not only the time they generally end up falling asleep, but also their peak alertness period, core body temperature rhythm and hormonal cycles. You can force yourself to follow society's bio clock, but it's like living with constant jet lag. Trust me, I have it.
> 
> Also, pretty much explained in the chapter, but Havens are areas which were "blessed" by the Nox Fleuret family back when everyone in the family could use magic. Runes only last so long though, and it's the Oracle's job to visit and revitalize each Haven once in their lifetime.
> 
> Finally, I've been thinking of making a tumblr for BR, where I would post basically the world's lore and give background information to characters who will be major players that don't play much of a role in the actual game. Like Coctura—she's going to be a major character. I'll most likely post updates on chapter progress, answer any questions, and add short side stories through the POV of someone OTHER than Noctis. Let me know what you think :)
> 
> EDIT: Due to having zero impulse control, I gone done the thing. If interested, you can find it [here](https://theblackrune.tumblr.com/).


	5. The Last Detour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they reach Galdin, meet Ardyn, and get blackmailed by Dino.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this chapter was longer than the others. I just wanted to get it all out of the way.
> 
> This chapter was partially really fun, partially a drag. Story-wise, the difference in Prompto's past doesn't really affect anything just yet, so it mostly ended up playing out the same way as in game. I even transcribed some of the dialogue (if you have a good enough memory to be able to tell what is and is not being said. They were or were not included for a reason.) ;)
> 
> I glossed over a whole bunch of things if I didn't deem it important. If you were hoping to read about some of their hunts and talking to the motel owner in Longwythe, sorry. It just didn't seem relevant.
> 
> Next chapter, shit hits the fan, and the games begin (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ✧
> 
> Thanks to my lovely beta, [bibliobasilisk](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibliobasilisk). You're awesome.
> 
> As for endnotes; you know the drill.

When Dave had said that the so-called “bloodhorn” had a mutation, Noctis assumed he only meant that its horns were red—not that the damn thing was thrice the size of a dualhorn. Noct unsummoned his blade, tucked into a roll to soften his fall and made his way to the beast’s corpse. He had point-warped out of the way just before Prompto and Gladio finished it off—who was the actual one that dealt the killing blow was what they were arguing over now.

“A bullet to the brain kills things dead,” Prompto said.

Gladio walked up to him and gave him a shove. “As does a severed head.”

“Normally,” Prompto agreed, shoving back twice as hard. “But not if it took a bullet to the brain first.”

Gladio lunged for Prompto, who deftly ducked just in time to avoid a noogie. Before Gladio could go for another try, Ignis stepped between them.

“Boys!” he said. “It doesn’t matter _who_ killed the beast, so long as it’s dead. Now, if you could kindly put this behind you so we can move on…”

“You’re right Iggy.” Prompto walked around Ignis and offered his hand to shake on their truce. “Though, I still killed it.”

Ignis heaved a sigh, but this time stepped out of the way as Gladio grabbed Prompto and threw him over his shoulder, before running off with him like that. Noctis couldn’t imagine that was all that comfortable, but Prompto was laughing just as hard. He couldn’t help but be amazed; how those two had so much energy after a fight like that, he would never know.

Noctis walked up to Ignis, and let himself drop next to him. He was a bit closer to the cadaver then he would’ve liked, but he needed to catch his breath. It was still fresh, so it’s not like the body smelled that bad. The look Ignis sent him told him he disapproved, but before he could say anything, his phone rang.

“Ring ring!” Prompto sang from the other side of the gorge. Noctis made a note to lower the volume on his phone.

He picked up quickly enough. “Hello?”

“Hey! Dave just called and said he’s safe,” Cindy’s distinctive accent answered him. “Thanks for finding him.”

“‘Kay.”

“Nice work y’all. By the way, the old girl’s looking good as new. She’ll be waiting at the garage.”

“Gotcha.”

By the end of his short conversation with Cindy, Gladio and Prompto had already rejoined them. He guessed they had gotten closer quickly enough to hear her since no one asked about the call before immediately debating who would drive the car. It wasn’t a long journey back, just under half a mile, and they had come to the unanimous decision that Ignis and Ignis alone would take the wheel. Gladio needed the extra space, Noctis was practically falling asleep, and Prompto was the reason they got into this mess in the first place.

Since they were fortunate to not come across any problems on their way back, other than a brief scare with some giant bird-storm-airship, it took just over five minutes before they reentered Hammerhead’s borders. Taking only the most fleeting of breaks to get a drink at Takka’s, they finished making their way to the centre of the small town to the garage. Noctis could already see the Regalia from here, and she was looking even better than when they first left Insomnia.

“Sorry about the wait,” Cindy apologized once they reached her, turning to greet them for the briefest of seconds, before quickly turning her attention to the Regalia. “Ain’t she purdy?”

“Almost too pretty for the road,” Gladio agreed. Noctis was thinking the same thing, looking a bit closer to inspect her, when Prompto started gushing.

“She’s back!” he said. “We should all get a picture with her!”

Prompto sent him a look before summoning his camera and handing it to Cindy, showing her how to use it. Noctis rolled his eyes; he wasn’t going to say no, even had they not made that stupid bet. Still, he sat down next to the Regalia and waited for the flash before standing once more.

“All the more reason to ride with care,” Cindy said, as she handed Prompto back his camera. He dematerialized it the minute it was securely out of her hands. “Oh, and before I forget, would y’all mind making a little delivery for me?”

Noctis didn’t have time to answer before Prompto piped in: “Oooh! Pick me!”

Noctis scoffed. “Someone’s eager.”

“I already put it in the trunk,” Cindy continued, sparing Prompto a smile. “There should be a motel on your way to Galdin. If y’all wouldn’t mind giving that to the owner, that’ll be swell.”

“Like grandpa, like grandkid.”

Cindy gave him a smile and sauntered off. Prompto watched her go with an enamoured look on his face. Noctis nudged him, laughing as he dodged Prompto’s returned elbow. Ignis sent them a look, which had Prompto scurrying off in Gladio’s direction, as he approached Noctis.

“Now that she’s all polished up and ready for the road, would you care to her for a little test drive?” he asked.

Noctis was already making his way over to the back seat of the car. “I thought we agreed that’s your job.”

“Very well.” Ignis slid into the driver’s seat. Gladio appeared shortly after, having finished his conversation with the woman he was chatting up, and sat in the back. Prompto, unfortunately, was still poking around in Cid’s garage. “Prompto! We’re leaving!”

“Coming!”

It took a minute before Prompto actually joined them, having to delicately return whatever artifact he had somehow talked Cid into letting him hold. He ran over and hopped the door, rather than opening it, for which Ignis was chewing him out. It took a day longer than they intended, but finally, they were on their way out of Hammerhead.

* * *

They had spent a bit more time in Longwythe than planned, stopping to run a few hunts for extra cash and to find Dave—who, it turns out, is the head hunter—a dog tag, but they had finally arrived in Galdin Quay. Prompto had been overly excited since he was able to see the sea and vaulted himself out of the passenger seat before Ignis even finished parking. Noctis couldn’t quite catch what his advisor muttered under his breath, but it made him laugh anyway.

“Noct!” Prompto ran around the car to grab at Noctis’ arm, trying to pull him out of the car. The door refused to cooperate with him.  “C’mon, we _need_ to take a photo, this place is gorgeous!”

“Yeah, yeah, just, would you let me stretch for a bit?”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Prompto had already run off in search of the best shot. “Sometimes, I have a hard time believing he is only two years younger than me,” Ignis said as they watched him go. “The ferry should arrive within the hour. We might want to stock up on some curatives while we wait. Also, the car could use some gas.”

“On it,” Noctis said.

“And I’ll go and see what weapons they have here,” Gladio offered, already making his way over to the merchant. “Keep the kid from getting into too much trouble.”

Ignis scoffed. “Easier said than done.”

Noctis laughed, as he made to fill the tank. Ignis made his way to where Prompto must’ve decided was the perfect spot, seeing as he was rooted in it. Noctis watched them as he waited for the pump to stop. He had been expecting Prompto to turn to Ignis and chat his ear off, but he still didn’t move from his spot even as Ignis put a hand on his shoulder. Ignis looked his way briefly.

Stopping the pump before the tank was full, Noctis put it back before rushing over to their side. Ignis still had a hand on Prompto’s shoulder, which Noctis could now see was extremely tense. His skin was even paler than usual.

“What’s wrong?” he asked upon arrival.

Prompto turned and sent him a strained smile. “Nothing,” he said. “Just...tired.”

“It’s not heat exhaustion is it?” Ignis asked, concerned. “Noct said you were susceptible to the heat, and we have been running around the desert the last couple of days.”

“No, it’s not that,” Prompto assured them. “We’ve been busy the last few days, and I have a hard time sleeping when we camp—I think everything just caught up to me at once.”

“If you’re sure,” Gladio said. Noctis didn’t even notice him join them, but he guessed they were making a bit of a commotion. “Tell us if you need to break or anything.”

Prompto smiled, and this time it was almost genuine. The colour was returning to his face, however slightly, but he remained tense. “Oh, trust me, big guy, I won’t hesitate to complain.”

“Yes, well, if you’re certain,” Ignis said. He removed his hand, but the look he gave him showed he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Since we’re all here, why don’t we buy our tickets? We can continue shopping later.”

Prompto exaggerated a bow. “After you, Your Highness.”

Noctis nodded. He would prefer to be behind the other—easier to keep an eye on Prompto in case he was pushing himself—but he knew Prompto well enough to know he wouldn't move until he did. He shared a look with Ignis before leading the group towards the docks, and Gladio stayed conspicuously behind slightly longer than necessary.

The bridge that led to the restaurant, and behind it, the Quay, was maybe a bit longer than he would’ve liked, but Prompto chats with him, like normal, teasing him about possible plans to whisk Luna back to Lucis, like in a fairytale. Noctis slowed down so he could shove him when they stood side by side, and Prompto very nearly fell up the stairs leading to the Mother of Pearl. Noctis almost felt bad, but Prompto was quick to push him back.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck.”

Prompto tensed once more, and Noctis looked up to see a man he’d never seen before making his way towards him. Prompto, in general, was not good with people, so he wasn’t surprised when he stayed back to allow Gladio and him in between him and the stranger.

“Are we?” Noctis asked.

The stranger’s eyes flickered between Noctis and the others, settling just over Gladio’s shoulder, before returning them to Noctis. “You keep interesting company,” he said. Noctis didn’t know what to say to that, but he continued on before he even had a chance to say anything. “The boats bring you here? Well, they’ll not take you forth.”

“And what’s your story?” Gladio asked, taking a step to stand just in front of Noctis.

“I’m an impatient traveller, ready to turn ship,” he said, walking past them. His eyes flicked to Noctis’ right for just a moment, and he smirked. “The ceasefire is getting us nowhere.”

He threw something Noctis’ way, and Gladio was quick to catch it. He opened his palm to find an intricate coin. “What’s this? Some sort of souvenir?”

“Consider it your allowance.”

Gladio took another few steps forward, threateningly. “Yeah? And who’s _allowing_ us?”

The man shrugged. “A man of no consequence.”

Noctis sincerely doubted that, and he said as much. The others didn’t say anything, but as they all watched him leave, Noctis suspected he was the only one who thought so. It was only when he was finally out of sight that Prompto spoke up.

“You believe what that guy said about the port being closed?” he asked.

“I’m skeptical,” Ignis answered, “though I wouldn’t discount the possibility.”

“I say we go check it out for ourselves,” Gladio suggested.

Noctis agreed as they had nothing better to do. The Mother of Pearl was nice, expensive though it seemed, at least the layout allowed for easy access to the Quay. Taking the steps down two at a time, Noctis walked out to the Quay, but there was not a ship in sight. He walked a bit further in, as though he might be able to see a ship coming in from a distance, but there was nothing.

“According to my sources,” someone with a very distinctive Duscaean accent said as they made their way back. “The empire’s giving strict orders not to let any vessels leave the docks of Altissia. Real shame if you’re late to your own wedding, right, Prince Noctis?” He leaned back all too casually. “Name’s Dino, by the way. Pleasure.”

Noctis crossed his arms, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ignis step forward, ready to intervene if necessary.

“The crown prince of Lucis, bounty hunting in his fancy car,” Dino continued. “Surely you didn’t think it’d go unnoticed—at least, not by this reporter. Lucky for you, this reporter has integrity. If you wanna remain incognito, I’ll respect your wish...in exchange for a favour.”

“So much for integrity,” he heard Prompto mutter behind him. Dino must’ve heard him too, but he kept his focus solely on Noctis.

Noctis sighed. “What do you want?”

“Hey! I knew you’d come around. Let me see your map.” Reluctantly, Noctis handed it over. He took out a pen from his jacket pocket, as well as what looked like a rock, and marked an area not too far from Galdin, before handing it back. “I marked where you need to go on your map. All you got to do is find me some rough gemstones—like this one.” He held up the rock. “Do this, and your ship will come in. Don’t, and the papers’ll run you out of town. Capice?”

And as though to solidify his status as an asshole, Dino gave him the sleaziest smile Noctis had ever seen before sending them off. Why he thought it was a good idea to blackmail a prince, Noctis couldn’t say, but if there really was an embargo, they would need all the help they could get to reach Altissia, even if it came from shady reporters.

“How long do you think it’ll take for us to get the gem and come back?” Prompto asked.

“I’d say an hour or two,” said Ignis. “It doesn’t look like it’s too far. The bigger problem will be finding the actual ore deposit once we get there.”

Prompto checked his watch. “It’s just past five now. That should give us enough time to get it and be back before nightfall.”

“Whoa, wait.” Noctis stopped them. “We’re taking a break first. _You_ said yourself that you were exhausted. We can stay the night and go tomorrow.”

“Noct’s right,” Ignis said. “We can’t afford to have you feeling out of it in case of an attack.”

“No way, I’m feeling better guys. Besides, the sooner we get the gem, the sooner Noct can get hitched, the sooner the peace treaty’s official! C’mon big guy, you gotta have my side here!”

Gladio sighed as the attention was shifted his way. He looked between Prompto and the others, before coming to a decision. “Let’s eat,” he said. “If Prompto says he’s up for it after we’re done, then we go; if we need to stop, we can. That way, we’ll have some nutrients in us, and it’ll give us a few minutes of downtime too.”

“That’s a good compromise.” Ignis adjusted his glasses, before looking Prompto directly in the eye. “But you are to tell us immediately if we need to take a break.”

Prompto exaggerated a salute. “Yes, sir!”

Noctis followed him as he made his way to the bar in the middle of the restaurant. Noctis knew he could overrule their decision, and he contemplated it for a brief moment, but he disliked abusing his power, even if it’s for their own good. At the very least, he could take his time eating and drag it out as long as he can.

“Welcome,” said the woman behind the counter. “What can I get you?”

Ignis took a quick glance at the menu. He knew all their tastebuds best, so no one had a problem letting him order for them. “He’ll have the galdin gratin,” he said, pointing in Noctis’ direction, “while my friend and I will have the sea’s bounty risotto. As for the blonde—”

“Can I recommend our white fish? Freshly caught, cooked in tomato sauce, and topped with a squeeze of lemon. I can guarantee you’ll enjoy it.”

Prompto looked his way, but Noctis just shrugged. It was ultimately up to him. “Uh, sure, I’ll have that,” he said.

She smiled widely. “Just give me a moment; I’ll have them prepared in no time!”

She was indeed quick. Within ten minutes, she was plating their food and putting it before them, and Noctis had to say it all looked delicious. Prompto’s took the longest to make, and she finished it off by drizzling a design on the fish with the remaining tomato sauce. It was rather uninteresting—it looked almost like a fence with crisscrossing lines cut into thirds by three vertical ones—but Prompto lit up upon seeing it. Noctis raised an eyebrow in question, but Prompto, who was usually quick to pick up when Noctis was watching him, instead turned his attention to the chef.

“Hey, um, I was wondering,” he said, leaning across the counter to get closer to the chef. “Do you know of any really good places to take some shots?” He pulled out his camera, as though to confirm it was _pictures_ he wanted “I'm trying to document our journey for my friend here, and Galdin would look pretty as a postcard.”

The chef–Coctura, her name tag read–laughed. “The docks behind the Mother of Pearl make for a beautiful landscape photo. I find it tends to look best just a quarter past midnight; that’s when you can see the craig shine under the moonlight, and if you view it from _just_ the right angle, it’s absolutely breathtaking.”

“Does it have to be a specific angle? I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it on my own. Think you’ll be able to show me?”

“Well, I get off at midnight, if you don’t mind me tagging along?”

“Why would I mind? A beautiful lady such as—”

“We’re leaving!” Noctis interrupted, shoving the last bite in his mouth even as he stood. “Thank you for the food, but we really need to go.”

“Wah—but I haven’t even eaten yet. Nooooooct!”

“Should’ve thought of that before you spent the entire time flirting. You want to get that stone and come back before nightfall, don’t you?”

Despite his protests, Prompto was quick to follow him. Ignis stayed behind to actually pay the bill, but he caught up pretty soon after. Gladio waited until they were halfway across the bridge, before grabbing Prompto by the neck and giving him the noogie he managed to avoid yesterday.

“That was smooth Prompto,” he said. “Didn’t think you had it in ‘ya.”

“Indeed,” Ignis said, also giving Prompto a bit of a shove. “Having seen your previous attempts at flirtation, I didn’t think you knew how to do so.”

“Hey!”

“Would you guys just get in the car already?” Noctis grumbled, having already reached the Regalia. The other three were taking their sweet time; and to think they were the ones who wanted to get this done today. “We’re burning daylight.”

Prompto freed himself from under Gladio’s arm and took his seat on the passenger’s side. “Yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a ‘noct.”

For not the first time, Noctis had to groan at Prompto’s puns. Ignis and Gladio finally joined them in the Regalia, and they ended leaving around a quarter to six, which didn’t leave them with much time to finish their task before nightfall.

* * *

 To be fair to Dino, the job was easy in the end. There was that scare with the bird-storm-airship from a few days ago, but it just flew off after finishing its roost. The ore deposit had been relatively easy to spot without the giant creature in the way, and once they had the garnet, it was an easy ride back. Night had already fallen, and Gladio had suggested that they stay at the Haven nearby, but Prompto insisted they could make it back to Galdin without running into any trouble. Considering Prompto had been the one demanding they turn in early the other two nights, Noctis was tempted to say no, but he really didn’t want to have to camp for a third night in a row. Besides, in the end, Prompto had been right, and they hadn’t come across any daemons on their return journey—though that may have had something to do with Noctis speeding back. If Ignis refused to drive at night, he’d just have to put up with Noctis’ less-than-stellar driving.

“You guys go on ahead and hand that off to Dino,” Prompto said once the reached the Mother of Pearl. “I’ll go book us a room. My phone’s still dead, so I would like to charge it A.S.A.P.”

“I’ll go with you,” Gladio offered. “That Dino guy rubs me the wrong way.”

“Very well. Text us the room number once you get it, and we’ll meet you in the room,” Ignis said, before leading Noctis back to Dino, who hadn’t moved from the last time they saw him.

“Nice work, kid!” Dino said once he handed over the acquired garnet. “Sorry for giving you such a hard time. I just had to get my hands on this, even if it meant blackmail. You understand, don’t you?

“Y’see, I’m a reporter by day, and an amateur jeweller by night. This little beauty’s gonna become a masterpiece. To make it up to ya, I’ll share a little scoop. That little coin you got—it commemorates the Oracle’s ascension. That guy was tossing ‘em out to everyone. Musta picked ‘em up back in Niflheim. And speaking of freebies, here’s one from me,” Dino pulled out a bracelet from his back pocket and handed it over. “Come back if you wanna buy more!”

Ignis summoned the coin to study it, before sending it back to the armiger. “I doubt a souvenir like that could make it’s way into the hands of an ordinary citizen,” he said. “Dino, as we held up our end of the deal, can we expect you to do the same?”

“As promised,” he said. “I’m in the process of securing your ferry tickets right now. Told ya, I’m a man of integrity. Should be smooth sailing from here, so let me know when you’re ready to ship out.”

“We’ll go now then,” Noctis said.

“Already!? The ship won’t arrive until tomorrow. How about you find a place to spend the night?”

“Well, it’s a good thing we sent Prompto and Gladio ahead to secure us a room. I don’t think Galdin typically accepts guests this late at night.” Noctis checked his phone, and was surprised to see it was almost ten. “C’mon Noct, Gladio texted me; it’s room 106.”

Following Ignis, Noctis couldn’t help but be glad the others managed to get a room on the first floor. He didn’t want to walk up any more stairs if he could avoid it. They didn’t have a key though, so they had to wait for someone to open the door. Gladio was quick to answer after they knocked.

“Hey, Iggy, our bed is the far one,” he said.

“What?! No, you got to sleep with me, Iggy!” Prompto protested.

“I’m afraid, Prompto, that I have no interest in engaging in such activities,” Ignis said, smirk plastered on his face. “As for bedmates, I believe Gladio and I already agreed over text.”

Prompto threw his pillow at Gladio, who bellowed out a laugh. “Cheater! I’ll remember this,” he said. He checked his phone, and groaned when it still showed the empty battery despite having been plugged in. “Ugh… Well, I got to go to the bathroom,” he announced. “Please try to _not_ hog the entire bed Noct.”

“I won’t,” he said. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth!”

Prompto gave him a one fingered salute as he walked out the door. Why he didn’t just use the bathroom attached to their room, Noctis would have to ask him later, because he was planning on using it. Three days without a shower made him feel all gross and sticky, and he couldn’t wait to rid himself of that feeling. He took his time under the water—Galdin was charging them 10,000 gil for the room, the least he could get out of it was a nice, long, relaxing shower.

So, he may have taken half an hour in there, and he may have only gotten out because Gladio started pounding on the door, demanding to use it, but it was worth it coming out clean and relaxed. Gladio grumbled as they switched rooms, muttering something about damn princes, but Noctis was in too good a mood to care. Ignis was in the middle of folding laundry when he walked in. Noctis made sure to avoid eye contact.

“Hey, where’s Prompto?” he asked.

“He hasn’t returned yet,” Ignis said.

“Think he got lost?”

Ignis sent him a look. “Yes, I believe I saw him heading in the direction of the pier.”

Noctis rolled his eyes. “I’ll go get him,” he said, and left before Ignis could stop him.

He walked through the Mother of Pearl on his way to the pier, and just as he reached the stairs, Coctura appeared. She sent him a smile as she walked past him. Noctis stepped aside, with the slightest of bows; she had truly been accommodating—much more so than Dino at least. _She_ didn’t try and blackmail them into doing errands for her.

He finished walking down the stairs, and when he didn’t immediately spot Prompto, walked further in. It didn’t take that long; the Quay was not that large, and Prompto was the only one present, sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. Noctis approached him and took a seat beside him.

“Thought you were going to the washroom?” he said.

Prompto shifted to give Noctis more room, though it was completely unnecessary. They had the whole place to themselves. “I was...originally. But then Coctura offered to bring me here so I could take a picture, and how could I say no?”

Noctis laughed. “You have been harping about Angelgard since we got here,” he conceded. “So, did you get your shot?”

Prompto blushed. “I guess I forgot?”

Noctis shoved him. It was just like Prompto to forget to do the one thing he came here for. “Well, take it now then. I wanna get to bed.”

Prompto jumped up, summoning his camera in hand. “You stay there,” he said, as he ran behind him. Noctis watched as he laid himself down on his stomach and focused the lens on him. “Keep looking forward! This’ll make an awesome shot.”

Noctis rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. He waited until he saw the flash before turning around, and Prompto was already standing on his feet.

“Like I said.” He shoved the camera in his face and showed him the picture. “Awesome shot. I think I deserve a gift for that.”

Noctis quirked an eyebrow. It was a good shot, but… “What do you want?”

“Can you sleep on the floor tonight?” Prompto asked, smiling all too widely.

For that, Noctis decided the best reward would be a dip in the sea, and he provided him with just that.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys' keep everything in the armiger. While, anything they can't fit in their pockets at least. Prompto, Gladio and Ignis participate in the etiquette of _not_ dematerializing things while they are in someone else's hands. Noct tends to forget that not everyone has access to the Hammerspace, and sometimes just makes things disappear out of someone's hands, which can be very disorienting if unexpected.
> 
> No one knows what Prompto did to wreck the car. They don't even know if he wrecked it, or he just happened to be behind the wheel when it went on the fritz. Either way, Prompto is no longer allow to drive.
> 
> Prompto tends to get weak if left in direct sunlight for extended periods of time. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke, if it gets really bad, have come to be the go-to explanation as to why if ever asked.
> 
> Sorry there's not much lore relevant things that happened this chapter. On another note though, I have decided on the fates of several characters that were previously up in the air, and the ending has also been solidified.


	6. The Fall of Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With news of a supposed attack, Noctis goes against his father's wishes and turns back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :D 
> 
> With this chapter, we finally get to the major branching of BR from canon (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ✧
> 
> So, I'm not gonna lie, I'm kiiiinda nervous about this chapter. This is my first instance of fight writing...I've been avoiding it unless it's plot relevant, in case you haven't noticed. Unfortunately, there are many plot relevant fights to come, so if you have any pointers, LET ME HAVE THEM! D:
> 
> Once again, I've transcribed some of the dialogue from the game, but a larger portion of it has been modified. If you've played it recently, watched someone play it recently or just have an awesome memory, I suggest paying attention to the differences ;)
> 
> Once again, thank you [bibliobasilisk](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibliobasilisk). Especially this time, for putting up with my changing tenses during the fight Dx
> 
> Finally, before reading, two things; 1) the violence in this chapter isn't that graphic, but that's more due to Noct's state of mind, it will be more graphic in latter chapters, so just a heads up, and 2) there are a few swears in this chapter...90% of which are delivered by Prompto. The baby can have a potty mouth at times ;P

It was disorienting waking up to the sound of the sea practically roaring in his ear. Three days out of Insomnia and nothing felt quite as foreign as the sound of crashing waves. Insomnia had some lakes and ponds, places which he visited regularly, but nothing was quite as dynamic as the sea. The noise was like an alarm—always repeating, never ceasing, and eventually, Noctis gave up on falling back asleep.

Disentangling himself from the sheets, Noctis rubbed the sleep out his eyes and surveyed the room. Gladio was the only one there, lounging in one of the armchairs with a book in one hand and drink in the other. The balcony door was wide open, which explained the volume of the waves, and if he looked beyond the blinds, he could see Prompto leaning against the rail, tapping away at his phone. Ignis, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“Good to see you're finally awake, princess,” Gladio said as he set his mug aside. “Was beginning to wonder if you’ll need a kiss from your true love.” Noctis reached behind him to throw the nearest pillow, but Gladio stopped it with his free hand, and immediately threw it back. Noctis wasn't as prepared for it, and it smacked him in the face. “Try again when you're more awake, princess.”

More awake was not something he was looking forward to, but there was no way he was getting back to sleep, now that Gladio knew he was awake. Instead, he rolled out of bed, summoned his things and started his morning routine. It only took a few minutes, and by the time he returned, slightly more awake, Prompto had joined Gladio in the room. He slumped on the couch opposite Gladio. Ignis was still M.I.A. Prompto nodded at him in acknowledgement, but was too absorbed in his conversation with Gladio to say anything.

“So no luck then?” Gladio asked him, and Noctis was surprised to note he put his book down.

“None,” Prompto bemoaned, eyes still focused on the phone gripped in both his hands. “I left her a message to let her know I'm alive at least but don't know if that'll help much.”

“If she called 42 times, just knowing you're alive is probably doing more than you think,” Gladio said. His voice was soft, much like the way it was when he spoke to Iris years ago. “Going to try again in a bit?”

“Nah,” Prompto said. “She said she'll call back when she’s got a chance—just gotta make sure I pick up this time.”

“What are you talking about?” Noctis asked.

Gladio sent him a look. “Prompto’s mom called more than 40 times since we left.”

“That's...a lot.”

“Which is exactly why you'll forgive us for being a little on edge.”

Noctis took a seat next to Prompto on the couch, who scooted over to give him more room. “No kidding,” he said. Prompto _had_ said his mother was a bit overprotective at times, but judging by Prompto’s anxiety, 40+ calls was pushing it, even for her. “Any idea why?”

Gladio shook his head in answer. “None. Iggy left a little while ago,” he said, motioning towards the room door, which was slightly ajar. “We're hoping he comes back with news.”

“It better be good news,” Prompto said.

“I’m afraid it's not,” Ignis said, closing the door behind him. Noctis looked up, but Ignis was too busy staring at the paper in his hands before Gladio took it from him. His face was blank with shock.

“What is it?” Noctis demanded, but Ignis just turned away. Gladio looked it over, but the title was already visible.

“Insomnia...falls,” Prompto read aloud.

Noctis was on his feet in a second. “This your idea of a joke?!”

“I need you to calm down so I can explain.”

“I’m as calm as I’m going to get,” Noctis cut him off, as he got in Ignis’ face, as though his proximity might lessen the blow of his words. Gladio placed his hand on his shoulder to steer him back, even as he rose from his seat. He skimmed the article as quickly as he could before his eyes stopped on the last sentence.

“As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky,” he read aloud, slowly. “When the smoke about the Citadel had cleared, the king was found...dead.”

“No, wait, hold on…” Noctis took the paper from Gladio’s hands. It made no sense. Not when a week ago, they were _in_ Insomnia. Just yesterday the news was reporting on the upcoming treaty! And yet, the words Gladio read were before him.

“There was no way of knowing…” Ignis said.

Noctis was quick to crowd him once more, and this time Gladio let him. “What? Knowing what?”

“That the signing was last night,” he said, “that Insomnia—”

“But the _wedding_! Altissia!”

They had spent the last three days making their way to the flooded city. Luna had sent him word that she, too, was on her way. She wouldn't’ve lied about that; she wouldn't have had a reason to.

“I know,” Ignis said, and Noctis couldn't help but hate his tone; all soft and consoling. “That was the plan. Yet the reports of the invasion are all the same. How could every headline in the kingdom be wrong?”

Noctis walked away from Ignis, and took his seat next to Prompto once more. Prompto shifted to give him more room, and held his wrist close to his heart. Otherwise, he hadn’t moved since Ignis rejoined them. “Lies,” he whispered, but Prompto heard.

“If only,” he said, almost wistfully.

They sat in silence for a moment. Ignis remained rooted to where he stood, but Gladio paced, until, finally, he stopped to ask:

“What else do we know?” The question was clearly directed towards Ignis. He shook his head. “Then we can't be sure until we see it with our own eyes.”

“Then we go back to Insomnia,” Prompto said determinedly as he leaned forward in his seat and stared Ignis down.

“Might not be safe for us there—”

“It's not safe for us here!” Prompto interrupted Ignis’ objection as he stood. There was a conviction in his voice Noctis was unused to.

“Turn back?”

Noctis didn't respond right away, thinking about his father's words. Not to turn back, as though he knew this would happen, but he couldn't have. As Ignis said, there was no way of knowing.

“Yeah,” he finally said.

* * *

 The weather was abysmal. Typical that the one time it rains in Leide it's a freaking downpour. No one really felt like listening to some tunes, so the only sounds were the rain hitting the car, and the windshield wipers working overtime. Noctis wished they would shut up too.

“I hope everyone’s okay,” Prompto eventually said. His voice was small, and for a moment Noctis wished it was corporeal so that he could squash it.

“Lotta good hoping’s gonna do,” he said instead.

“You mustn't lose faith,” Ignis tried placating, but Noctis was having none of it.

“Really?” He snarked. “Can faith stop a fleet of imperial dreadnoughts?”

“Give it a rest.”

“My old man had plenty of faith!” Noctis took a deep breath, to steady his nerves. “And they stabbed him in the back for it. Never should’ve trusted a Nif,” he muttered darkly.

“Conjecture gets us nowhere,” Ignis said, but even he sounded unconvinced. “We’re searching for the truth.”

“All you'll find are lies,” Noctis shot back. “Like that ceasefire.”

Gladio sent him a look, but Noctis had already said his piece, and had no problem sulking for the rest of the ride. They weren’t that far from Insomnia now, and it only took a minute before they could see the blockade the Nifs had set up. That should've been enough—the Nifs were hardly being subtle—but Noctis knew he wouldn't be able to accept it until he say it with his own eyes. Ignis, thankfully, didn't turn around at the blockade, despite Prompto’s insistence, but instead took a lesser known route towards the ruins of the old gatehouse. Ignis hadn't finished parking the car when Noctis opened the door to step out. He could feel his magic pulsing beneath his skin, and he called on his sword as he climbed the steps, ready to throw it at the first Nif he saw.

He heard Gladio and Ignis call out to him as he charged ahead, but he paid it no mind. Noctis didn't bother masking his steps. At some point, a Nif heard and went to investigate, and the moment he put himself in Noctis’ line of sight, he struck.

His first strike was a mess. He paid no mind to _where_ he stabbed the Nif, just that he did so. His blade nicked the man’s aorta as it dug into his abdomen, and Noctis found his hands drenched with blood when he removed his weapon. It had taken a bit of force to remove it—probably because it had been caught in the spinal cord. He pushed the body aside as it fell forward, but his side was already soaked in blood.

Good. Nothing less than those Nifs deserved.

The sound of a gunshot reminded Noctis of the others. He threw and warped to his sword once more, with more precision this time. He had an easier time removing the sword from the Nif’s neck than his friend’s abdomen.

Two left. He threw his sword, but the blood made it slip in his hand and threw off his aim. He apparated behind the man because of his mistake. The Nif lifted his gun and aimed before Noctis could even move.

“Watch where you’re going!” Gladio cried out, distracting the rifleman just long enough to catch up and slice through him. He grabbed Noctis by the scruff of his neck as Ignis took down the remaining Nif. “Wait for us if you’re not looking to get yourself killed!”

Noctis slapped his arm away. “I had it under control.”

“Right.” Gladio was clearly unconvinced, but he didn’t say anymore.

Still, Noctis took the time to catch his breath as they waited for Prompto to catch up. He was reloading his gun, despite not firing a single bullet. Ignis rejoined them at about the same time, having gone ahead to scout out the area.

“There are seven ahead,” he said. “Three snipers along the back wall. Gladio and I will have to deal with the riflemen in between us and them, so once you warp-strike there, you’ll only have Prompto for back-up.” He turned to Prompto. “And that means keeping up. While His Highness did run ahead, you took your sweet time catching up.”

“Aye, aye,” he said with a mock salute.

Ignis sent him the stink eye briefly, before turning to Noctis. “Are you ready?”

“Oh yeah,” he growled. “Those scrap heaps are gonna _wish_ they had a treaty to protect them.”

Noctis was slower on his way to the Nifs this time, but his blood sang just as much. Waiting for Ignis’ signal, they knelt next to the decrepit wall. The room, if it could be called that, was large and filled with obstacles the Nifs could hide behind. He was going to have to warp high to ensure he got behind the snipers, which meant he wouldn't be able to take one out with his first strike. So be it—they won't have much time before he could strike down from above.

He let Ignis call forth his daggers before calling on the last one. He didn’t doubt he could reach the far wall with his sword, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Prompto’s gun was still in his hand, uncocked. After a few more seconds of waiting, Ignis caught his eye and nodded.

Taking that as the signal, Noctis was the first one out of cover, followed swiftly by Ignis and Gladio. The two charged at the nearest soldiers, and Noctis threw his dagger high above the snipers’ heads before rejoining it. Their momentarily stunned state was all the opening Noctis needed as he switched to a lance, and he dived onto the middle sniper’s head. The blade didn’t pierce the helmet he wore, but the sickening _splat_ he heard told him all he needed to know.

The snipers are either side of him turned to aim, but Noctis was already charging the second one down with his sword. Through the armpit, where the armor was weakest—just like Gladio taught, and he, too, was dead. Noctis turned to take on the last one, but found him already down—an additional hole in his neck pumping out his life’s blood as he struggled to breath. Had he been in a more benevolent mood, Noctis might have ended his suffering. Instead, he watched Ignis slit the last guys’ throat before moving ahead. With the last of the old gatehouse behind them, the hill overlooking Insomnia was just ahead, and Noctis picked up his pace.

As they made their way up the hill, they spotted four more Nifs ahead—all snipers. One had the high ground, so Noctis decided to take him out first, and warp struck him even as his back was turned.

Noctis staggered as he freed his blade. It was all he could do before  keeling over. His head was killing him, and he felt nauseous. Fuck. He had made himself sick.

“Don’t wear yourself out like that!” Gladio shouted from below, as though that helped.

It didn’t.

“Guys, we’re going to have some more company,” Prompto warned.

Looking up, Noctis watched as one of the Empire’s airships approached. It was still a ways away, so Noctis took the time to catch his breath as he let the others take care of the remaining snipers. The nausea left him just as the ship lowered itself to drop off it’s cargo; three riflemen, and two, green-faced MTs. Ignis and Gladio were already on them as the MTs started to activate. Noctis warped to their side, but he wasn’t as ready as he thought. His head throbbed once more, bringing him to his knees.

“Outta the way!” Gladio growled, as he grabbed Noctis with one hand and threw him back. With the decline down the hill, he was launched further, but Prompto caught him. “Prompto! Look after him!”

Prompto lowered Noctis rather gently, before resummoning his gun. “Gotcha big guy,” he said.

Noctis, completely unable to do anything, was forced to sit there and watch as Gladio and Ignis took on the newcomers. They tried to keep their attention on them, but while the riflemen were doing all they could to avoid their strikes, the MTs just walked past them, making their way towards Noctis and Prompto.

“Fuck,” Prompto swore, as he raised his gun and fired on the approaching MTs. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuuuuuuuuck_.”

He emptied a barrel on one MT before it fell, the red lights of it’s eyes shutting off once more. The second was still making it’s way towards them though, raising its serrated blade even as Prompto reloaded. The others were just finishing off the last rifleman; there was no way they could reach them in time. Noctis was still feeling like a marionette with its strings cut; there was no way he could help. All he could do was watch, and pray.

Prompto was still in the middle of reloading when the MT swung its blade. Quick as a wink, Prompto dropped into a low squat and kicked the MT’s legs out from under it. He stood just as quickly, and emptied his newly loaded barrel into the one at his feet until the lights behind its eyes, too, went out.

He turned to Noctis and offered him a hand, but Noctis took a moment to collect his thoughts before accepting it.

“It seems the marshal was as thorough as ever in his training,” Ignis commented. He adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves with a near nonchalance. “Come along, it’s not that much further to the top.”

Noctis still couldn’t run, but Ignis wasn’t exaggerating. Within a few minutes, they reached the top, and Noctis almost wished it took longer.

The entire sky above Insomnia was black with smoke. The Wall was gone, and around them, more dreadnoughts approached the city, as though they hadn’t yet torched it enough. Noctis’ knees felt weak once more as he approached the edge. Ignis pulled out his phone and dialed a number, followed shortly by Gladio. Noctis followed their lead, and hit the 3 on his speed dial—not even bothering with the first.

The phone rang once, before it was picked up. “Hello? Cor?”

“So, you made it,” Cor replied.

“The hell’s going on?”

Cor didn’t answer. “Where are you?”

“Outside the city, with no way back in.”

“Makes sense.”

“‘Makes sense’?” Noctis parroted. “Are you serious? What about _any_ of this makes sense?! The papers say my father’s _dead_!”

Cor sighed. “Listen, I’m in Hammerhead,” he said. “About the king; it’s true. If you’re looking for the whole truth, you know where to find me. Get moving.”

Noctis felt his hands loosen their grip. “Right,” he said, before letting his arm drop.

Ignis approached him, and coaxed his phone out of his hand before he could drop it. “What did the marshal have to say?” he asked.

“He,” Noctis paused to take a breath, “said he’d be in Hammerhead.”

Gladio sighed. “And the king?”

Instead of answering, Noctis turned around and started making his way down the hill. The others followed shortly after. The climb down felt shorter than the way up, and soon enough they had reached the Regalia. Noctis slid into the backseat, paying no mind to the blood, rain and dirt soaking his clothes as he took his seat. The other three took a moment longer outside before they too entered, taking the time to lay out some blankets when all Noctis wanted to do was move.

They were halfway back to Hammerhead when Gladio broke the silence.

“Well, at least we know what your mom was calling about,” he said.

“Yeah,” Prompto said, with none of his usual enthusiasm.

“Did she make it out at least?”

“She, uh, she wasn’t in the city,” Prompto answered.

“The Argentums’ were on an errand for His Majesty in Duscae,” Ignis explained. “What about Iris?”

Gladio sighed worriedly. “I couldn’t get a hold of her.”

“I’m sorry,” Ignis said.

“Yeah, well…”

Gladio didn’t finish his sentence, and no one bothered to do so for him. The rest of the way there was as silent as the start.

Ignis pulled up under the overhang, where Cindy was already waiting for them.

“Glad y’all made it,” she said. “No weather for drivin’, that’s for sure.”

Noctis didn’t have the time or patience for small talk. “Where’s Cor?”

Cindy, at the very least, caught on quickly. “In the garage, talkin’ to Paw-paw.”

“Thanks,” he said.

With a last nod her way, Noctis and the others made their way to the garage, which was left wide open despite the weather. In the back, Cor sat with Cid, as he looked over a picture. Cor caught their movement and stood, patting Cid on the back one last time, before making his way towards them. He continued past them, motioning them to follow, as they made their way to the caravan. He walked all the way to the back, as he leaned against wall and waited for them to take a seat. Noctis sat down on the same bed as Prompto, who took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“What happened?” Noctis asked.

Cor sighed. “It was a mess,” he said. “I was out of the city when the attack happened. I had to fight my way to the Citadel, but once I arrived, the battle was over. Nyx, Darutos and His Majesty had all been felled by the time I arrived. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing you could’ve done,” Noctis said.

“Yes, while, what was strange was what I saw on my way to the Citadel,” he said. “The Nifs occupied every block, and were gathering the citizens up in the town square.”

“Why?” Ignis asked. “What reason would the empire have for moving beyond the Citadel? They don’t usually involve citizens.”

“I don’t know, but,” Cor said, and he looked Noctis’ way, but didn’t quite catch his eye. “It was almost like they were searching for something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, I can't used video game near-indestructum here, so basically it comes to this: if you get hit in the right spot, its an insta-death. They're human, so Noct warp striking someone in the abdomen is going to kill them even should he be underleveled.
> 
> There's not much headcanon stuff this chapter...at least, not much that ain't spoilery O:
> 
> But! I do have a few ideas about Noct's mana consumption, and stasis! So, I guess I'll cover that.
> 
> Obviously, Noct spends mana to warp-strike. I figure he also uses mana whenever he, or the bros, summon a weapon—it's just, for the most part, its such a small amount he doesn't really notice it unless he uses it a lot within a short period of time. His mana does not restore itself if he point-warps either, so you can imagine he's regaining his mana at about the normal rate in game when he's just walking around. The intensity of his stasis phase is also dependent on how much more mana he used than he honestly had available. Bad enough, and he can knock himself out....or even kill himself, so it's something he SHOULD be paying more attention to than he does in this chapter ;)
> 
> Also, I believe the way warping works is that Noctis throws a weapon, places himself in the armiger, and then extracts himself, using the weapon he threw as a beacon. Which is also why Nyx is able to do so—as long as you have access to the armiger, which Nyx did, you can theoretically warp. It's just...most people who have access aren't taught...and a lot of them don't want to be taught either. Who (other than Nyx and the Lucis Caelums) would willingly put themselves INTO the Armiger?!
> 
> Finally, in a link strike, Gladio will pick up a lance and throw it, one handedly, with Noct on it, so he can canonically throw Noct with one hand xD


	7. Planning the Counterattack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which princes die and plans are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you [bibliobasilisk](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibliobasilisk) for beta'ing :)
> 
> Hello, hello, hello :D
> 
> Long time no write my readers. I apologize for that—I missed three of my self appointed deadlines. THREE D: (I never was any good at getting work done by the appointed date) T^T
> 
> Not much to say about this chapter since its preeeeetty self explanatory, except for one thing; this is the first chapter in which a character's wardrobe is altered, and while this time it was something small, there will definitely be larger ones down the road. (For example—when they are crossing the rift, you know, that frozen wasteland, they'll _actually_ be wearing winter clothes because WHAT THE HECK GUYS? )
> 
> On to the chapter, and you know the spiel~

_The train was cold, and Indie tried to bury herself deeper into the mound of blankets that she made. X5-9 was a blessing, sitting in her lap, his body temperature regulated as per usual. He felt like a furnace in comparison to the rest of the freight car. She curled up closer to him, and he squirmed just the tiniest bit to accommodate her._

_Normally, Indie enjoyed the quiet, but hours had passed since they stowed away alongside the Crownsguard equipment, and X5-9 had run out of things to ask about, and instead slept against her. She couldn't blame him—as dark as the car was, it still let in more sunlight than he was used to, and X5-9 had seen more activity in the last 48 hours than he had in years. Still, it would've been nice to have something to do, if only take her mind off what_ she _did in the last two days._

_Or maybe she just wanted to take her mind off the bitter cold. It was unnerving how at peace she was with everything she had done, but the cold was nigh unbearable. They were passing through Ghorovas Rift, and the Glacian was determined to make them suffer for her slaughter. She felt it unfair—she hadn't been a part of the team to take her down, and, surely she was only one really suffering, stuck in the cargo hold. Cor and the others had heating and cloth seats—she had blankets and a sleeping child._

_Speaking of which, Cor was another matter she had to deal with. X5-9 seemed to have imprinted on him, but she had no doubt he would take him out the minute he came across as a threat to her safety. She wanted to trust him, and he had done little to suggest he would turn them in come Insomnia, but still, she contemplated jumping ship as soon as they passed Ghorovas Rift. She had originally planned on hiding out in Tenebrae, but there was no denying Insomnia would be safer for X5-9 than anywhere else. If he came through, Cor could possibly be the best thing for X5-9, but was she willing to risk his life on a possibility?_

_She hugged X5-9 closer to her, keeping herself in check despite her desire to jump the train the minute they reached Tenebrae. “No one can limit you,” she whispered into his ear, running a hand over the scar on his arm. “Fate’s only as inexorable as we want.”_

* * *

 

Day had yet to break, yet already Cor had forced himself into their caravan and demanded they awoke. For once, Noctis was not the only one still bedridden; Prompto may have been awake and dressed in his fatigues, but Ignis and Gladio were no more awake than he.

“Get dressed,” he demanded. “We’re leaving.”

Noctis had half a mind to complain, but Cor left as suddenly as he arrived. Prompto stood awkwardly in the doorway for all of five seconds, before turning and following him out. Noctis sighed and resigned himself to leaving before the sun rose. He summoned his casual wear; he hadn't the energy to wash his fatigues last night and not the time this morning as Cor had the patience of a behemoth—which was none whatsoever. He felt only slightly foolish with everyone else dressed in uniform, but that was preferable to wearing clothes caked in another’s bodily fluids.

Once dressed, he followed the others outside, where he saw the Regalia parked near where Prompto was chatting with an all-too-lively Cindy, but no Cor to be found. Cindy wished him a good morning, but Noctis was up at an ungodly hour and just wanted to get going.

“Where’s Cor?” He asked.

Prompto looked in Takka’s general direction, but it was Cindy that answered. “He's talking with Paw-paw about something real special,” she said. “Marshal seems to think we’ll have imperials as early as a couple of hours from now.”

“And that's why we're leaving so early,” Gladio mused. “Moving a bit quickly, aren't they?”

“I believe him,” Prompto said seriously.

“Not doubting the man,” Gladio said, placatingly. “The Six know he has the nose of a bloodhound; he can smell trouble from a mile away. The man could tell me to jump off a cliff and I wouldn’t question him. Just wonder why he thinks they'll be moving on so quickly; he made it sound like they were combing through Insomnia, and the city’s big enough for that to take a month, not a day.”

“I wouldn't know,” Cindy said. “I can tell all y’all need to know ‘bout an engine and how to keep ‘er going, but I know shite ‘bout much else. Couldn't tell ya which end of a sword to hold if I wanted to.”

“Needn’t worry Ms. Aurum,” Ignis said. “Though, if you could tell me where I might find the marshal, that would be very helpful.”

“Pretty sure I told y’all to call me Cindy, grease-monkeys like me ain't no missus,” she said, stretching herself as she walked away from the Regalia, then pointed in Takka’s direction. “He and Paw-paw are speaking at the restaurant down yonder; only place crazy enough to be open at this time.”

While Noctis agreed with her assessment, he wondered what that said about her, seeing as she was awake, and before them too.

“You didn't think I'd let y'all leave without a goodbye, didja?” She asked, honestly sounding somewhat hurt. Noctis hadn't realized he said that aloud.

“Don't mind Noct,” Ignis said. “He’s still half asleep.”

“Yup, takes twice as long to process things,” Prompto chipped in. “And he's not that quick to begin with.”

Noctis rolled his eyes, but it seemed to have appeased Cindy, who was trying to hide a laugh behind her hand. Ignis and Prompto kept her talking as they waited for Cor, who was taking his sweet time for someone who forced them awake before dawn. The sun caught up to them half an hour later, when Cor finally made his way over, Cid in step with him.

“Gladio, you're up front with me,” he ordered. “Noctis, Prompto, Ignis; you're in the back. Work it out amongst the three of you who's stuck in the middle.”

Ignis threw him the keys. As anal as he was about being behind the wheel, he wasn't going to deny _Cor_ anything. Noctis quickly shuffled into his usual seat, and without a word, Prompto slid in beside him, buckling himself in, and Ignis took the last seat.

“Don't go killing those boys now,” Cid said as Cor buckled himself in. “This ain't the city.” Cor scoffed, but otherwise did not acknowledge the old man, who then turned his attention to the boys. “And you boys better take care of the ol’ girl—I don't wanna see any’all back here, ya hear me?”

“Aye, aye sir,” Prompto said, with what Noctis was beginning to think was his favourite saying.

“You boys just keep on keepin’ on, ya hear me?” Cindy said as she leaned over to look each one of them in the eye. “And remember: Paw-paw and I are rootin’ for y’all.”

“Of course,” Ignis replied for all of them. “And you be sure to stay safe in the event the empire does visit.”

With one last round of goodbyes, Cor shifted the gear and left the outskirts of Hammerhead. Noctis was just about to make himself comfortable enough for a nap, when they reached the main road, and Cor floored it. The sudden shift in speed sent his hat flying—and with it, his stomach.

He rushed to buckle himself in, as did Gladio and Ignis, which seemed to amuse Cor, who didn't slow down, even to retrieve his hat. He wondered if this was what Cid meant about killing them, as Cor refused to decelerate even for a sharp corner.

* * *

The Prairie Outpost was a small place, barely large enough to be considered a hamlet. Noctis was surprised they had the lights needed to protect them come night, but there they were, mostly centred around the large building in the middle of the accumulation of houses. Cor had parked the car on the edge of the outpost, and Noctis was just glad his stomach finally had time to settle. He exited the car, and followed after Cor, who had already made his way towards the central edifice. There were no proper doors to the building, which Noctis found was more of an shack whose walls were lined with ancient looking machines and old radios he wouldn’t know how to operate if he tried. In the centre of the room, stood Monica and Dave, who had been peering intently at the table between them. They turned to greet them, and immediately Monica dropped into a bow.

“Your Highness,” she said. “For a moment, we feared the worst.”

“At ease,” he said, with a placating hand.

Cor strode past her as she rose, and leaned against the table. “Gladio, you and Prompto, you join the others and do a perimeter check; Ignis, Noct, you're with me.”

“Yessir!” They said, and the two ran off.

Monica, meanwhile, led Noctis and Ignis to the centre table, where they found a detailed map of Lucis spread across. Red pieces had been placed precariously throughout Leide; and seeing as most seemed to be accumulated at the Ostium Gorge, he had an idea of what they represented.

“The Empire moves quickly,” she explained. “They must've been planning this for months. Insomnia fell within a day.”

“Insomnia should've held out much longer, even without the Wall,” Ignis commented.

Monica agreed. “Exactly,” she said. “It's why we have reason to believe this was an inside job—but seeing as the Crownsguard was practically exiled before the signing, we have no idea of knowing what went on inside the city.”

“Exiled?” Noctis asked.

“Yes,” Cor answered. “A part of the treaty’s terms. Kingsglaive would be allowed, but all Crownsguard were to remain outside the actual city. I protested, but…”

“Father wouldn't have it,” Noctis finished.

Cor nodded. “We thought Clarus, Drautos and the Kingsglaive would be enough to hold them back long enough for us to arrive, yet,” he paused. “We were far away enough, that by the time we were aware the invasion was happening, the major battle had already been won. It was my decision to retreat.”

“The marshal had us focus on extracting as many civilians as we could, but even that was more than we could handle. We lost nearly half the Crownsguard before the marshal called for a full retreat.”

“I should've called for one earlier.”

“I think y’all did the right thing,” Dave said, stepping forward. Noctis had almost forgot he was there. “Missus here told us what happened. Did people some good to see city folk ain't forgot how to look after the helpless.”

No one said anything, but the mild resentment was clearly heard in his tone.

Cor recovered first. “They've locked down Leide—we have no access to the rest of Lucis, either in person or even communication,” he said.

“Then we need to rebuild our communications array,” Ignis said. “Based on location alone, Three Valleys would be preferable, but Galdin would be the best equipped.”

“Galdin’s no good,” Dave said, shaking his head.

“Why not?”

“She’s a lost cause,” Monica explained, pointing to the city. Noctis hadn't really been paying attention, but now he could see it had practically been painted red. “The empire took over almost immediately after Insomnia fell.”

Noctis grit his teeth. “We were just there,” he said.

“Probably why they felt confident enough to announce your demise,” Monica said.

“Wait, what?” Dave handed him the morning paper, and there, in bold letters, was his obituary: **The End of Line of Lucis** . “ _Amidst the rubble and ruin of the once great city of Insomnia, there was more heartbreak to be had. More than just the capital fell, as both king and prince were found dead. The Oracle, herself on her way to join the Lucis Caelums, had also met her untimely demise_ ,” he read aloud. “What the hell is this?”

Ignis took the paper from his hands and read it himself. “They're trying to squash any loyalists before they have a chance to get a foothold.”

Without the paper to hold, Noctis found himself wringing his hands. “If it _was_ an inside job, what makes them think there even are loyalists?”

Ignis’ look darkened. “There are _always_ loyalists.”

Monica agreed. “Even with the disconnect between the crown city and the rest of Lucis, there are guaranteed to be people who would fight for you. A public statement would go a long way to help our cause.”

“I'm gonna have to disagree ma’am. While we ain't no Accordo, you won't find many folks jumping to assist ya. The folk ‘round here have been livin’ with the Nifs for decades. They may not like what they did to the capital, but they ain't gonna take up arms over it.”

Ignis put the newspaper aside, on one of the old machines. “Which is why their brutality in Insomnia makes no sense. The empire expands through complacency. They nurtured the perfect indifference in Lucis for nearly thirty years; the attack would needlessly anger citizens who would otherwise have sat back and watch it happen.” He took his glasses off to clean them before he continued. “But Mr. Aubumbrie is right; that resentment would take effect passively, rather than with aggression. It may be best for Noct to stay ‘dead’ to the world.”

“Morale is already at an all time low; His Highness’ death was a blow to everyone. The people _need_ to know there's someone worth fighting for!”

“But to keep up the appearance, they'll need to be less enthusiastic in their search,” Cor countered. “Which is what we need; we don't have the manpower to take on the bulk of the Empire’s army, and they won't be able to send many troops any which way without begging questions.”

“But Marshal; the morale! With the king dead, the Kingsglaive disbanded and half the Crownsguard wiped out, I’m already having to deal with deserters. We don't have the manpower to afford punishing them to make an example, but I fear keeping them would just brew a toxic environment.”

“Then make them doubt! Get some reporter to put the _idea_ that the prince might still be alive out there, but no official statement. Someone once told me that the lack of information can be just as powerful, so long as it's utilized properly.”

“And where are we going to find a reporter of reputable source? Any Crown City reporter would be written off as blind hope!”

“Noct and I know someone who may be of help. A _man of integrity_ in Galdin who owes us a favour or two; Dino Ghiranze.”

“Dino’s a good name ‘round these parts. Folk’ll listen to him.”

Monica sighed. “I'll get into contact with him. Luckily, Galdin was a much more peaceful take over than the capital.”

“Good,” said Cor. “Now that we've figured out what to do with Noct, we can start at what this meeting was _really_ for. Dave, how many of your Hunters are willing to join the resistance?”

“‘Bout half of ‘em. Can't spare more; folk ‘round here need ‘em to keep ‘em safe.”

“Monica, provide me with the names of the potential deserters. If we put them on regular hunter duty, do you think you can spare us more men?”

“I dunno if I like the idea of deserters looking after folk, but I might. One hunter for every three—gonna want some folk to watch ‘em so they don't wander off on us.”

“Good enough. Monica; what are our targets?”

Monica leaned over the map and pointed at the Ostium. “The bulk of the army in Lucis is in Insomnia and the gorge.” She dragged her finger across the map until it landed on Galdin. “However, Galdin seems to be where they're setting up a temporary HQ, and where they're getting all their supplies from overseas. Both places are too well defended for us to strike, but they seem to be using their airships only for military drops.”

“Meaning, to supply Insomnia, they'll be taking the roads between,” Ignis pointed out. “That would be the most opportune time to strike. If we can whittle down their supplies—”

“Y’all will have a better chance down the road.”

“Until they stop using the roads and just use their dropships, that is,” Cor said. “But there's got to be a reason they're not using them—overtaxing on fuel? Who knows, but simply using them when they would prefer not to is already enough of a detriment to _their_ morale, which, as Monica has said, can have a large impact down the line.”

“As well as deplete whatever resource they were hoping to ration by taking the roads.” Ignis pointed to Longwythe. “They'll probably use Longwythe was a waypoint, so we can expect chatter there. If we could get someone inside—”

“Leave that to me and my boys,” Dave said.

“Hunters will probably draw too much attention,” Cor said. “The Empire will be offering their ‘protection’ to Longwythe; Hunters will probably just be told their services are better put to use elsewhere. And after the first strike, they'll definitely be weary of anyone carrying a weapon.”

“Crownsguard is no good though,” Monica pointed out. “They most likely have records of all our members.”

For a split second, Cor looked... _proud,_ almost _. “_ Don’t worry; I’ll get someone in.”

Personally, Noctis thought a Hunter would have an easier time getting in as a non-threat than anyone Cor could come up with. The man was an icon and the most hated person in the Empire for that stint he did years ago; anyone he so much as locked eyes with was probably put on some imperial watchlist.

“You've been very quiet, Your Highness,” Monica said. “Is there anything you wanted to add?”

Noctis stared at the map. He trusted Ignis and Cor to come up with the best solutions, but there was one thing that was bugging him. “Yeah,” he said. “What are _we_ going to do?”

* * *

 

In the end, the meeting took all day. Cor and the others worked out the details to the most minute detail, and only then was Noctis let out with Cor’s permission, to allow them to finalize without him. Ignis stayed behind, but it was already 10:00 and Noctis didn't think he could handle one more hypothetical situation. He understood the importance of planning, but all _he_ wanted to do was take out some Nif trash, not _talk_ about it.

Gladio had stopped by earlier to let them know they had set up camp not too far from the outpost—because apparently the outpost hadn't thought about caravans or motels or any other means to house their guests. Not that they generally _had_ many guests, but still. Noctis made his way up the hill, only stopping to buy a new hat seeing as he doubted he'll find the one Cor made him lose earlier, ready to hole up in the tent and sleep off the last 72 hours. Prompto was already at the camp, fiddling around with a radio he stole from the outpost.

“...my heart weeps for those who lost their lives in the takeover of Insomnia,” he heard, “Nifs and Lucians both. All life is precious, whether it belongs to our countrymen or enemies makes no difference, and I, like many others, was looking forward to the signing.

However,” the voice turned hard for but a moment, before taking on a mournful tone once more. “More than that, I wish to see my son once more, and see those that caused him harm be brought to justice. It may be unfair to blame the mass of Insomnia on the actions of a few, but until my son had returned home, I will not cease my search for him, and the Six have mercy on the Lucians that took him!”

Noctis had heard enough, and reached over Prompto to shut it off. Prompto hadn't notice him approach, and practically jumped out of his skin. He looked almost...sad as he met Noctis’ eyes.

“Don't believe that BS,” Noctis said. “The Empire just trying to justify their actions.” He pat his back, before heading for the tent once more. “I’m turning in. See you in the morning Prompto.”

Prompto turned the radio back on, but lowered the volume so he could barely hear it even from this distance. “Yeah,” he said, but he was looking at his wrist rather than at him. “Night Noct.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cor is a horrible driver. Or rather, he's an amazing driver, but he's like a race car/stunt driver, so, it's absolutely terrifying to be in the car with him. He can't drive that way in Insomnia, due to its overcrowded streets, but outside and he floors it. Cid, being an old friend of his, knows _all_ about it.
> 
> On that note, Cor was with Clarus, Regis and Cid on _their_ road trip, so he's been a long time friend of Cid. Cid never treated him like a child, despite the fact that he was one during the trip, so Cid may have been Cor's favourite fellow road tripper. Even after Cid and Regis had their falling out, Cor and Cid kept up contact, and Cor always made sure to stop by whenever he left Insomnia on business. He's well acquainted with Cindy due to this.
> 
> Monica Elshett is Cor's second in command. Cor often leaves her in charge as he gallivants off to play the calvary for someone, so she'll be popping up often as the marshal-in-charge. Monica is also Ignis' primary trainer, so the two get along very well.
> 
> Finally, I think I did pretty good making it clear who's speaking when in the second part of the chapter, but if it is confusing, please let me know. There were a lot of voices to juggle T^T

**Author's Note:**

> P.S; This story now has a [tumblr](https://theblackrune.tumblr.com/).


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